Tuberculosis and COVID-19: An epidemic submerged in the pandemic: A case series and review of current literature

Sutapa Rath; Baijayantimala Mishra; Prasanta R Mohapatra; Ananda Datta; Gopal Durgeshwar; Manoharacharyulu Vedala; Manoj K Panigrahi; Sourin Bhuniya

doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_258_22

Tuberculosis and COVID-19: An epidemic submerged in the pandemic: A case series and review of current literature

J Family Med Prim Care. 2022 Oct;11(10):6576-6580. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_258_22. Epub 2022 Oct 31.

Authors

Sutapa Rath¹, Baijayantimala Mishra¹, Prasanta R Mohapatra², Ananda Datta², Gopal Durgeshwar², Manoharacharyulu Vedala², Manoj K Panigrahi², Sourin Bhuniya²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
² Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB), the leading infectious cause of death worldwide, like coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is mainly transmitted through the respiratory route and affects the lungs. Though TB-COVID co-infection is not common, but might be missed due to similar clinical presentation. Therefore, a high index of suspicion of co-infections is needed so that there is prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment. A higher mortality of 13% in cases of co infections is alarming. Here we are reporting a case series of SARS-CoV-2 - TB co-infection from Eastern India.

Keywords: COVID-19; diagnosis; mortality; tuberculosis.