Govt recommends Covid tests for all TB patients, vice versa

New Delhi: As COVID-19 patients with the history of tuberculosis (TB) are more prone to the mortality due to the infection, the Union Health Ministry has asked all stakeholders fighting the Coronavirus battle to conduct COVID-19 screening of all diagnosed TB patients and TB screening for all positive cases of the infection. The move in this regard has been taken to address dual morbidity among COVID-19 patients due to tuberculosis (TB) and Coronavirus.

Citing the findings of the researches, the ministry in its advisory stated that studies have shown that the history of active as well as latent TB in an important risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection that not only results in increased susceptibility, but also rapid and severe symptom development and disease progression with poor outcomes.

Besides, bi-directional TB-COVID screening, the ministry has also advised TB screening of all influenza-like-illness (ILI) cases and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) cases.

"All newly diagnosed TB patients or those currently on treatment should be tested for COVID-19 and based on the results of the test, further management would be undertaken as per the health ministry's protocols," the advisory said,

adding that treatment of TB would continue uninterrupted even upon diagnosis of the infection.

The advisory further stated that all COVID-19 cases should be screened for TB symptoms using the four-symptom complex such as cough for more than two weeks, persistent fever for above two weeks, significant weight loss and night sweats.

Given that tuberculosis is associated with a 2.1-fold increased risk of severe COVID-19 diseases, all COVID positive TB patient would be admitted to a dedicated Covid Care Centre, if it requires. The similar four-symptom complex screening has also been recommended for ILI and SARI cases to diagnose more and more COVID-19 cases.

In an another important advisory, the ministry has asked all stakeholders to screen every patient at admission for hyperglycemia with at least two capillary blood glucose values – one pre-meal and one post-meal value by a glucometer as diabetes patients are more prone to COVID-19 infection and mortality after getting infected with the virus.

It's must to know that hyperglycemia refers to high levels of sugar or glucose, in the blood. It occurs when the body does not produce or use enough insulin.

As per the advisory, it has been asked to repeat monitoring even if the initial blood glucose is normal.