Tuberculosis Prevalence Among COVID-19 Patients From A Dedicated Centre: Results of Bidirectional Screening.

Background: India, with a huge global burden of tuberculosis (TB), had the highest number of daily Corona virus disease (COVID-19) cases in the world during the COVID pandemic.The biological effects of the interaction between TB and COVID-19 are crucial recalling the concept of 'cursed duet' which was used to describe TB and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) co infections in the past.Methodology: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted during June 2020 to January 2021 in the Tuberculosis laboratory, Department of Microbiology, at a COVID dedicated tertiary care hospital in East Delhi.Fifty-one clinical specimens (sputum, urine, pus, gastric aspirate, body fluids, endometrium etc) from clinically suspected TB among COVID diagnosed patients were included in the study.Results: Of the 51 samples from suspected cases of TB among COVID-19 patients, only 6 samples (11.7%) were positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis.Majority (83.7%) patients had pulmonary tuberculosis as compared to extrapulmonary tuberculosis (16.9%).Conclusions: A rigorous monitoring and surveillance among all COVID-19 cases should be encouraged to minimize the yet not visible impact of COVID-19 on TB.