Poor infection control, slow recovery: Dual TB-Covid-19 load hits states

It has been two months since Kenchamma, 48, started on tuberculosis (TB) medication under the government programme in Tumkur, Karnataka but recovery has been slow. "She is still not well--feels nauseous, exhausted and weak," said her son, Ashok Kumar.

Kenchamma had both TB and Covid-19, a debilitating combination that makes recovery from either disease hard, doctors said.

Preliminary studies in India show a 0.37% to 4% prevalence of TB among Covid-19 patients while 1.14% of the TB patients screened for Covid-19 were diagnosed with the disease, until October 2020, per an emailed response from India's central TB division. In all, India has