COVID-19 and tuberculosis co-infection: A neglected paradigm

Abstract

Saint Teresa Kolkata Memorial TB Hospital, Kolkata, India COVID-19 pandemic has posed a serious threat to global healthcare and economy. India has one of the highest burden of COVID-19 disease in the world. Presentation of the disease is highly variable. Tuberculosis, one of the top ten causes of mortality has a presentation conspicuously similar to the current SARSCoV-2 infection. Co-infections of Tuberculosis with past corona virus epidemics like SARS and MERS-CoV had posed a major threat in spread of the disease. We suggest proper tuberculosis screening, isolation of patient, remote tracking of suspected patients for symptoms during the current pandemic.