TB and COVID-19 Management: Ministry of Family and Health Welfare

The manifestations of TB and COVID-19 are significantly similar. Because the pulmonary system is involved in both diseases, patients with either disease are highly susceptible to the other. Recent statistics reveal a high prevalence of COVID-19 in TB patients with poor prognosis. To tackle the situation, the Ministry of Family and Health Welfare has released guidelines for managing these patients. The need for bi-directional screening India holds a major burden of tuberculosis (TB) and COVID-19.

Around 295.9 per 100,000 individuals in India suffer from TB. 1 The COVID-19 outbreak in India has also been declared as the world’s fastest-growing outbreak. 2 Given the pathophysiology of COVID-19, patients with TB are 2.1-times more susceptible to the disease . Additionally, the symptoms of COVID-19 and TB are similar. Studies have reported that around 0.37%–4.47% of patients with COVID-19…