Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of the respiratory system that spreads when a patient coughs, sneezes, or spits. COVID-19, another respiratory disease, created havoc in 2020 and 2021.  During this pandemic, the whole healthcare system was diverted into COVID-19 patient care. It is importa...

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Main Authors: Sae Pol, Pooja Shah, Vaishali Gaikwad, Sujata Dharmshale, Mansi Rajmane, Rajesh Karyakarte
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Golestan University of Medical Sciences 2025-01-01
Series:Medical Laboratory Journal
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Online Access:http://mlj.goums.ac.ir/article-1-1843-en.pdf
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author Sae Pol
Pooja Shah
Vaishali Gaikwad
Sujata Dharmshale
Mansi Rajmane
Rajesh Karyakarte
author_facet Sae Pol
Pooja Shah
Vaishali Gaikwad
Sujata Dharmshale
Mansi Rajmane
Rajesh Karyakarte
author_sort Sae Pol
collection DOAJ
description Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of the respiratory system that spreads when a patient coughs, sneezes, or spits. COVID-19, another respiratory disease, created havoc in 2020 and 2021.  During this pandemic, the whole healthcare system was diverted into COVID-19 patient care. It is important to determine what the status of TB was during the COVID-19 period. This study was mainly undertaken to detect the occurrence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) and rifampicin resistance before, during, and after COVID-19 restrictions were fully released. Methods: Pulmonary and extrapulmonary samples from 1st January 2018 till 31st December 2022 were included in the present retrospective study. The period was divided as- 2018, 2019 - Before COVID-19 2020, 2021 -COVID-19 period with restrictions (Such as use of masks, social distancing, avoiding gatherings) 2022 -COVID-19 period without restrictions. All samples received in TB section were subjected to Cartridge-Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT). The samples were processed according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. Results: There was no significant difference in samples received per year from 2018 to 2022. The positivity of M. tuberculosis decreased from 22.52% in the pre-COVID-19 period to 15.70% in the COVID-19 period with restrictions and increased again in 2022 (16.80%). Rifampicin resistance decreased from 10.40% to 6.89% in the COVID-19 period with restrictions. A decrease in positivity was not observed in extrapulmonary TB cases. Conclusion: In the present study, total samples for TB received over five years were relatively the same. Restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 period could decrease TB and rifampicin resistance. Thus, imposing restrictions on TB-suspected and positive patients regularly can help prevent the spread of the disease.
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spelling doaj-art-9f3015e5bc7c4c9a88461b8d93c21e862025-08-20T03:27:48ZengGolestan University of Medical SciencesMedical Laboratory Journal2538-44492025-01-011911921Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosisSae Pol0Pooja Shah1Vaishali Gaikwad2Sujata Dharmshale3Mansi Rajmane4Rajesh Karyakarte5 Department of Microbiology, BJ Medical College, Pune, India Department of Microbiology, BJ Medical College, Pune, India Department of Microbiology, Government Medical College, Satara, India Department of Microbiology, Government Medical College, Baramati, India Department of Microbiology, BJ Medical College, Pune, India Department of Microbiology, BJ Medical College, Pune, India Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of the respiratory system that spreads when a patient coughs, sneezes, or spits. COVID-19, another respiratory disease, created havoc in 2020 and 2021.  During this pandemic, the whole healthcare system was diverted into COVID-19 patient care. It is important to determine what the status of TB was during the COVID-19 period. This study was mainly undertaken to detect the occurrence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) and rifampicin resistance before, during, and after COVID-19 restrictions were fully released. Methods: Pulmonary and extrapulmonary samples from 1st January 2018 till 31st December 2022 were included in the present retrospective study. The period was divided as- 2018, 2019 - Before COVID-19 2020, 2021 -COVID-19 period with restrictions (Such as use of masks, social distancing, avoiding gatherings) 2022 -COVID-19 period without restrictions. All samples received in TB section were subjected to Cartridge-Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT). The samples were processed according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. Results: There was no significant difference in samples received per year from 2018 to 2022. The positivity of M. tuberculosis decreased from 22.52% in the pre-COVID-19 period to 15.70% in the COVID-19 period with restrictions and increased again in 2022 (16.80%). Rifampicin resistance decreased from 10.40% to 6.89% in the COVID-19 period with restrictions. A decrease in positivity was not observed in extrapulmonary TB cases. Conclusion: In the present study, total samples for TB received over five years were relatively the same. Restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 period could decrease TB and rifampicin resistance. Thus, imposing restrictions on TB-suspected and positive patients regularly can help prevent the spread of the disease.http://mlj.goums.ac.ir/article-1-1843-en.pdfcovid-19mycobacterium tuberculosisrifampicin
spellingShingle Sae Pol
Pooja Shah
Vaishali Gaikwad
Sujata Dharmshale
Mansi Rajmane
Rajesh Karyakarte
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis
Medical Laboratory Journal
covid-19
mycobacterium tuberculosis
rifampicin
title Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis
title_full Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis
title_fullStr Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis
title_full_unstemmed Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis
title_short Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis
title_sort impact of covid 19 pandemic on tuberculosis
topic covid-19
mycobacterium tuberculosis
rifampicin
url http://mlj.goums.ac.ir/article-1-1843-en.pdf
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AT vaishaligaikwad impactofcovid19pandemicontuberculosis
AT sujatadharmshale impactofcovid19pandemicontuberculosis
AT mansirajmane impactofcovid19pandemicontuberculosis
AT rajeshkaryakarte impactofcovid19pandemicontuberculosis