Worldwide Effects of Coronavirus Disease Pandemic on Tuberculosis Services, January–April 2020

Giovanni Battista Migliori; Pei Min Thong; Onno Akkerman; Jan-Willem Alffenaar; Fernando Álvarez-Navascués; Mourtala Mohamed Assao-Neino; Pascale Valérie Bernard; Joshua Sorba Biala; François-Xavier Blanc; Elena M. Bogorodskaya; Sergey Borisov; Danilo Buonsenso; Marianne Calnan; Paola Francesca Castellotti; Rosella Centis; Jeremiah Muhwa Chakaya; Jin-Gun Cho; Luigi Ruffo Codecasa; Lia D'Ambrosio; Justin Denholm; Martin Enwerem; Maurizio Ferrarese; Tatiana Galvão; Marta García-Clemente; José-María García-García; Gina Gualano; José Antonio Gullón-Blanco; Sandra Inwentarz; Giuseppe Ippolito; Heinke Kunst; Andrei Maryandyshev, Mario Melazzini, Fernanda Carvalho de Queiroz Mello, Marcela Muñoz-Torrico; Patrick Bung Njungfiyini; Domingo Juan Palmero; Fabrizio Palmieri; Pavilio Piccioni; Alberto Piubello; Adrian Rendon; Josefina Sabriá; Matteo Saporiti; Paola Scognamiglio; Samridhi Sharma; Denise Rossato Silva; Mahamadou Bassirou Souleymane; Antonio Spanevello; Eva Tabernero; Marina Tadolini; Michel Eke Tchangou; Alice Boi Yatta Thornton; Simon Tiberi; Zarir F. Udwadia; Giovanni Sotgiu; Catherine Wei Min Ong; Delia Goletti

Disclosures

Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2020;26(11):2709-2712.

Abstract and Introduction

Abstract

Coronavirus disease has disrupted tuberculosis services globally. Data from 33 centers in 16 countries on 5 continents showed that attendance at tuberculosis centers was lower during the first 4 months of the pandemic in 2020 than for the same period in 2019. Resources are needed to ensure tuberculosis care continuity during the pandemic.

Introduction

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has affected clinical management of tuberculosis (TB) and TB-related services.^[1,2] Reports of the first cohorts of patients with COVID-19 and TB have been recently published,^[3,4] although it may be difficult to distinguish which infection occurred first.^[5] The effects of COVID-19 on TB diagnostic and programmatic activities are similar.^[1] Almost every country has national TB programs in place, whereas national programs for COVID-19 are urgently needed.^[1,2]

The effect of COVID-19 on TB services is estimated to be dramatic, especially in countries where healthcare staff involved in TB management have been reassigned to the COVID-19 emergency. However, apart from local studies,^[6] a comprehensive, multinational description is needed.

The Global Tuberculosis Network, which conducted this study, collaborates with TB centers from 41 countries.^[3,4,6,7] We studied patient attendance at TB centers in 16 countries and compared the volume of TB-related healthcare activities in the first 4 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, January–April 2020, with that for the same period in 2019.

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Next Section

Abstract and Introduction
The Study
Conclusions
References

Authors and Disclosures

Giovanni Battista Migliori¹, Pei Min Thong¹, Onno Akkerman, Jan-Willem Alffenaar, Fernando Álvarez-Navascués, Mourtala Mohamed Assao-Neino, Pascale Valérie Bernard, Joshua Sorba Biala, François-Xavier Blanc, Elena M. Bogorodskaya, Sergey Borisov, Danilo Buonsenso, Marianne Calnan, Paola Francesca Castellotti, Rosella Centis, Jeremiah Muhwa Chakaya, Jin-Gun Cho, Luigi Ruffo Codecasa, Lia D'Ambrosio, Justin Denholm, Martin Enwerem, Maurizio Ferrarese, Tatiana Galvão, Marta García-Clemente, José-María García-García, Gina Gualano, José Antonio Gullón-Blanco, Sandra Inwentarz, Giuseppe Ippolito, Heinke Kunst, Andrei Maryandyshev, Mario Melazzini, Fernanda Carvalho de Queiroz Mello, Marcela Muñoz-Torrico, Patrick Bung Njungfiyini, Domingo Juan Palmero, Fabrizio Palmieri, Pavilio Piccioni, Alberto Piubello, Adrian Rendon, Josefina Sabriá, Matteo Saporiti, Paola Scognamiglio, Samridhi Sharma, Denise Rossato Silva, Mahamadou Bassirou Souleymane, Antonio Spanevello, Eva Tabernero, Marina Tadolini, Michel Eke Tchangou, Alice Boi Yatta Thornton, Simon Tiberi, Zarir F. Udwadia, Giovanni Sotgiu, Catherine Wei Min Ong² and Delia Goletti²

Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Tradate, Italy (G.B. Migliori, R. Centis, A. Spanevello); Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore (P.M. Thong, C.W.M. Ong); University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands (O. Akkerman); The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (J.-W. Alffenaar, J.-G. Cho); Westmead Hospital, Sydney (J.-W. Alffenaar, J.-G. Cho); Hospital Universitario San Agustín, Avilés, Spain (F. Álvarez-Navascués, J.A. Gullón-Blanco); National Tuberculosis Programme, Niamey, Niger (M.M. Assao-Neino); Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Nantes, France (P.V. Bernard, F.-X. Blanc); Community Health Centre, Tombo, Sierra Leone (J.S. Biala); Moscow Research and Clinical Center for TB Control, Moscow, Russia (E.M. Bogorodskaya, S. Borisov); Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy (D. Buonsenso); University Research Co. LLC, Manila, the Philippines (M. Calnan); Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy (P.F. Castellotti, L.R. Codecasa, M. Ferrarese, M. Saporiti); Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya (J.M. Chakaya); Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK (J.M. Chakaya); Parramatta Chest Clinic, Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia (J.-G. Cho); Public Health Consulting Group, Lugano, Switzerland (L. D'Ambrosio); Melbourne Health Victorian Tuberculosis Program, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (J. Denholm); University of Melbourne, Melbourne (J. Denholm); Amity Health Consortium, Johannesburg, South Africa (M. Enwerem); Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil (T. Galvão); Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain (M. García-Clemente); Tuberculosis Research Programme SEPAR, Barcelona, Spain (J.-M. García-García); National Institute for Infectious Diseases 'L. Spallanzani' IRCCS, Rome (G. Gualano, G. Ippolito, F. Palmieri, P. Scognamiglio, D. Goletti); Instituto Vaccarezza, Buenos Aires, Argentina (S. Inwentarz, D.J. Palmero); Royal London Hospital of Barts Health National Health Service Trust, London, UK (H. Kunst, S. Tiberi); Queen Mary University, London (H. Kunst, S. Tiberi); Northern State Medical University, Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation (A. Maryandyshev); Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Pavia, Italy (M. Melazzini); Instituto de Doenças do Tórax, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (F.C.Q. Mello); Instituto Nacional De Enfermedades Respiratorias Ismael Cosio Villegas, Mexico City, Mexico (M. Muñoz-Torrico); Community Health Center, Hastings, Sierra Leone (P.B. Njungfiyini; M.E. Tchangou); Amedeo di Savoia Hospital, Turin, Italy (P. Piccioni); Damien Foundation, Niamey, Niger (A. Piubello, M.B. Souleymane); University Hospital of Monterrey (Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon), Monterrey, Mexico (A. Rendon); Hospital Transversal Moises Broggi-HGH, Barcelona (J. Sabriá); P.D. Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, India (S. Sharma, Z.F. Udwadia); Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil (D.R. Silva); University of Insubria, Varese-Como, Italy (A. Spanevello); Hospital de Cruces, Vizcaya, Spain (E. Tabernero); Unit of Infectious Diseases Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy (M. Tadolini); Saint John of God Catholic Hospital, Mabesseneh Lunsar, Sierra Leone (A.B.Y. Thornton); University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy (G. Sotgiu); National University of Singapore, Singapore (C.W.M. Ong)

Address for correspondence
Catherine Ong, National University of Singapore, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, 1E Kent Ridge Rd, 10th Fl Tower Block, Singapore 119228; email: catherine_wm_ong@nuhs.edu.sg

¹These first authors contributed equally to this article.
²These senior authors contributed equally to this article.

About the Author
Prof. Migliori is director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Tuberculosis and Lung diseases at Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri, Tradate, Italy, and chair of the Global Tuberculosis Network. Primary research interests are prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of TB, including its relationship with COVID-19.