Pandemic year lowered TB transmission rates

VISAKHAPATNAM: An unintended benefit of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the lowering of tuberculosis transmission rates due to the extensive use of masks and physical distancing by the public, said medical experts on the occasion of World TB Day (March 24).
Doctors also cautioned against multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB, especially for immunocompromised patients, such as those with diabeties, HIV and cancer.On average, around 15% of TB cases are MDR in India.

Pulmonologist and civil surgeon at ESI Hospital Dr Phanender Ketha said, “TB is transmitted through droplets, which can spread when an infected person coughs, talks, sneezes, laughs or sings. The TB-causing bacteria can be present in everyone but those who have a strong immunity can resist the infection and transmission. The pandemic has been a blessing in disguise because most people wore masks and observed physical distance to save themselves from the coronavirus. Indirectly, this helped in reducing the infection rate. The annual decline of TB in the developed world has been seven per cent in the last one year.”
“However, patients with comorbidities like diabetes and HIV are prone to transmitting tuberculosis due to their poor immunity. In fact, the risk of HIV patients contracting TB increases seven-fold. MDR TB can occur in patients who take inadequate and erratic drug doses and do not adhere to the prescribed treatment. Additionally, it may happen if the bacteria mutates and offers natural resistance to the drugs. Drug Resistance Sensitivity Testing can find out if a particular TB patient is resistant to drugs and accordingly, the medicines can be changed,” added Dr Phanender.
District TB control officer Dr N Vasundhara said, “While it is true that wearing masks and social distancing measures will help to some extent in checking tuberculosis transmission, we also will have to take into account the pandemic shortfall in 2020. Due to the focus on Covid-19 and lockdown, testing was far less compared to other years and as a result, number of new cases registered was also less. Therefore, we cannot come to a definite conclusion unless we observe the trend of low transmission rate continuing this year as well.”