Integrated Tuberculosis and COVID-19 Activities in Karachi and Tuberculosis Case Notifications

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic surged, lockdowns led to the cancellation of essential health services. As part of our Zero TB activities in Karachi, we adapted our approach to integrate activities for TB and COVID-19 to decrease the impact on diagnosis and linkage to care for TB treatment. We implemented the following: (1) integrated COVID-19 screening and testing within existing TB program activities, along with the use of an artificial intelligence (AI) software reader on digital chest X-rays; (2) home delivery of medication; (3) use of telehealth and mental health counseling; (4) provision of PPE; (5) burnout monitoring of health workers; and (6) patient safety and disinfectant protocol. We used programmatic data for six districts of Karachi from January 2018 to March 2021 to explore the time trends in case notifications, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and service adaptations in the city. The case notifications in all six districts in Karachi were over 80% of the trend-adjusted expected notifications with three districts having over 90% of the expected case notifications. Overall, Karachi reached 90% of the expected case notifications during the COVID-19 pandemic. The collaborative efforts by the provincial TB program and private sector partners facilitated this reduced loss in case notifications.