Mysore/Mysuru: A massive survey has begun today to identify the spread of Tuberculosis (TB) that has crept in as all eyes were on COVID.

Doctors have been witnessing a rise in TB cases and predominantly COVID-recovered people are being diagnosed with TB. Following this, the Health Department has started a survey. 

“We are launching a door-to-door survey to check for the four common symptoms. The TB team and district health and TB officers and ASHA workers are doing an active case survey by visiting each house with COVID patients,” said District Health Officer (DHO) Dr. K.H. Prasad. He was speaking at an event held at Bannimantap Primary Health Centre (PHC) this morning to launch the survey.

Even the Union Health Ministry has reiterated its recommendations on TB screening for all COVID-19 positive patients. It has asked States to conduct survey at district levels to identify the prevalence of the disease. 

“The survey will be conducted from the PHC level till Aug. 31 and the houses of over 1.14 lakh COVID-recovered patients (second wave) will be visited and their family members, primary and secondary contacts will be identified and screened for TB. Of the 1.14 lakh patients, 66,000 infected are in Mysuru District,” DHO Dr. Prasad said. 

TB is endemic in India and during lockdown, people did not consult the doctor though they had developed symptoms. In many cases, people have also confused the symptoms of TB with COVID. As less people visited the hospitals, the TB disease rate has shown a 28 percent dip in Karnataka, he revealed. 

There is dual morbidity of TB and COVID as both the diseases are known to be infectious and primarily attack the lungs, presenting similar symptoms of cough, fever and difficulty in breathing. However, TB has a longer incubation period and a slower onset of disease. 

SARS-CoV-2 infection could make an individual more susceptible to developing TB disease, as TB is an opportunistic infection like black fungus. Drawing parallels between decreased immunity in both TB and COVID patients, the Union Health Ministry said TB bacilli can be present in humans in a dormant state and has the potential to start multiplying when individual’s immunity is compromised for any reason. The same is applicable in post-COVID scenario when an individual may develop decreased immunity due to the virus itself or due to the treatment, especially immune-suppressants like steroids.