Tuberculosis (TB) is the deadliest infectious disease in most low- and middle-income countries, claiming more than 4,000 lives each day. The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has seriously impacted people with pre-existing health conditions. People with TB are usually more vulnerable to other infections, including the novel coronavirus, due to pre-existing lung damage. They are also at higher risk of developing complications from COVID-19.
Download (130.56 KB) Download (147.47 KB) Download (281.16 KB)As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread to almost all corners of the world, the Stop TB Partnership has released the results of the latest modeling study which demonstrates the impact the virus will have on the world’s leading infectious disease killer globally—tuberculosis (TB). The new study was commissioned by the Stop TB Partnership in collaboration with the Imperial College, Avenir Health and Johns Hopkins University, and it was supported by USAID.
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Certain populations are at greater risk of TB, because of where they live, where they work or because of other socio-economic factors which result in them experiencing barriers to accessing health services. Despite the emergency nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, health approaches, as well as social policies, should consider rights and gender equity.
Special attention is required for health care workers. They are the frontline against TB and COVID-19. They must be protected and supported to ensure they can undertake their job safely and effectively.
Note: the above points have been compiled to provide immediate help to people affected by TB and TB programmes, recognizing that we are faced with an unprecedented situation. This is not exhaustive and may change and evolve as more evidence and experiences are gathered.
Tuberculosis and COVID-19 are infectious diseases which primarily attack the lungs. They present with similar symptoms of cough, fever and difficulty in breathing, although TB disease has a longer incubation period and a slower onset of disease. In order to address this dual morbidity of Tuberculosis and COVID-19, Government of India has recently released these guidelines.
Dashboards and Data (updated regularly)
COVID-19
As of 25 March 2020, 196 countries were affected with over 416,000 cases and 18,589 deaths.
TB
