Tuberculosis amidst COVID-19 in Pakistan: a massive threat of overlapping crises for the fragile healthcare systems.

Autor: Awan HA; Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan., Sahito AM; Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan., Sukaina M; Karachi Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan., Khatri G; Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan., Waheed S; Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan., Sohail F; Karachi Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan., Hasan MM; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Life Science, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail, Bangladesh.; Division of Infectious Diseases, The Red-Green Research Centre, BICCB, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Epidemiology and infection [Epidemiol Infect] 2022 Feb 22; Vol. 150, pp. e41. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Feb 22.
DOI: 10.1017/S0950268822000358
Abstrakt: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the cause of tuberculosis (TB), a granulomatous illness that mostly affects the lungs. Pakistan is one of the eight nations that accounts for two-thirds of all new cases of developing TB. TB has long been an endemic disease in Pakistan. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, the nation has over 500 000 incident TB infections per year, with a rising number of drug-resistant cases. Recently, the coexistence of COVID-19 and TB in Pakistan has provided doctors with a problem. Fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing are all signs of COVID-19. After SARS-CoV-2 infection, cough might persist for weeks or months and it is frequently accompanied by persistent tiredness, cognitive impairment, dyspnoea or pain - a group of long-term consequences known as post-COVID syndrome or protracted COVID. Coughing with mucus or blood, and coughing that continues over 2 months are indications of TB. The same clinical presentation features make it difficult for healthcare personnel to effectively evaluate the illness and prevent the spread of these fatal diseases. Pakistan lacks the necessary healthcare resources to tackle two contagious diseases at the same time. To counteract the sudden increase in TB cases, appropriate management and effective policies must be implemented. Thus, in order to prevent the spread of these infectious diseases, it is critical to recognise and address the problems that the healthcare sector faces, as well as to create an atmosphere in which the healthcare sector can function at its full potential.
Databáze: MEDLINE