‘Tuberculosis bacteria can start to multiply when the individuals immunity is compromised for any reason. Thus, people with active COVID infection or those who recovered from COVID-19 must be tested for TB, and prompt care should be taken.’
Back in August 2020, a sudden spike in TB cases was reported among individuals who had COVID-19, but MOHFW said that it is not yet confirmed that those cases were due to COVID-19. Yet states and Union Territories were asked to keep monitoring the cases of TB and COVID-19. Apart from this, multiple advisories have been suggested to reiterate the need for bi-directional screening of TB-COVID and TB-ILI/SARI.
Parallelly, experts detected about a 25% decrease in TB cases due to the impact of COVID-19 related restrictions.
In the recent statement, the ministry added, “TB bacilli can be present in humans in a dormant state and has the potential to start multiplying when the individual’s immunity is compromised for any reason. The same is applicable in post-Covid scenarios, when an individual may develop decreased immunity due to the virus itself or due to the treatment, especially immune-suppressants like steroids,” emphasizing the need to take necessary precautions to avoid this deadly combination of respiratory illnesses.
Source: Medindia
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