COVID-19 Pandemic and Tuberculosis Control: A Narrative Review.

Abstract

Background: The world is currently struggling with the COVID-19pandemic. Measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic have affected other health problems and diseases, including tuberculosis (TB) and its control. The present narrative review aimed at reviewing published literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TB control.

Materials and methods: English language databases, including PubMed, ISI, Scopus, and Google Scholar, were searched using the keywords "Tuberculosis, COVID-19, and Coronavirus" to find relevant articles.

Results: Problems and limitations in financial and human resources, as well as medical and laboratory services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, contribute to the reduction in the number of newly diagnosed patients with TB. More effort in identifying patients with TB is of great importance, and if the global number of newly diagnosed patients with TB decreases by 25% for three consecutive months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the TB mortality rate will increase by 13%. An increase in the TB mortality rate means the failure of TB control programs to reach the targets of the Global End TB Strategy.

Conclusion: According to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Health, the incidence of TB in Iran has not yet reached fewer than 100 cases per million population. On the other hand, being a neighbor with countries with a high risk of TB is a serious threat to Iran. Therefore, further effort to control TB during the COVID-19 pandemic is particularly important.