Abstract
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.
Highlights
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is responsible to cause tuberculosis (TB), a granulomatous disease that mainly affects the lungs and may disseminate to other organs such as the brain and cervical vertebra
The low-middle income status of Pakistan which is accompanied by a shortage of medical resources and lack of trained medical staff significantly creates a hindrance to access quality health benefits [5]
A 66.8% decline in routine Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination enunciated during the catastrophic ongoing COVID-19 pandemic [10]
Summary
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is responsible to cause tuberculosis (TB), a granulomatous disease that mainly affects the lungs and may disseminate to other organs such as the brain and cervical vertebra. Night sweats, chest pain, weight loss and severe cough with phlegm and may show up with haemoptysis It has a high mortality rate after HIV infection, and poses a severe public health hazard [2, 3]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the highest number of TB incidents in 2019 was reported, including 44% of emerging new cases from South-East Asia [4]. The coexistence of endemic diseases in LMICs like Pakistan with a global pandemic can prove to be a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. The acute burden and overwhelming nature of the COVID-19 crisis has invariably led to shifting of priorities and resources of already-underequipped and fragile healthcare infrastructure in many countries including Pakistan from other deadly diseases like TB [10, 16].
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