A battle against Covid -19 and tuberculosis – a case series of six post Covid tuberculosis

Abstract

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome – Coronavirus 2 (SARS Cov-2) disease, the so-called Covid-19 pandemic, has been one of the most spread diseases in medical history. However, it did not end with just the infection. It had taken away millions of lives through the post-Covid-19 Sequel. Preventive measures against COVID-19 such as self-quarantine, social distancing and use of facemasks is likely to reduce the spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). However, there is an anticipated net negative effect of COVID-19 on TB control, including an increase in the number of TB cases, death and the proportion of drug- resistant TB. Here, we present six cases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection out of which five patients never had history or exposure to TB bacteria. This raises a concern to the TB syndemic since the activation and pathogenesis of the bacteria after Covid -19 exposure could be due to CD4+ T-cell depletion associated with Covid-19 which resulted in progression of latent tuberculosis into active tuberculosis.[1] This study is presented to increase awareness of the suspicion of infection, early diagnosis and meticulous contact tracing is undertaken to treat the infection.

Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Covid-19, Global TB burden, post-Covid TB