COVID-19 -Tuberculosis interactions: When dark forces collide.

The SARS-2 pandemic which has moved with frightening speed over the last 5 months has several synergies with another older, and far more neglected airborne disease, tuberculosis. Patients with tuberculosis are not only more likely to be infected by SARS-CoV-2 but also likely to have adverse outcomes once infected. The sequelae of more severe forms of COVID-19 in patients who have recovered from TB but have residual compromised lung function, are also likely to be devastating.

Prognostic Factors for Adverse Outcomes in COVID-19 Infection.

Whilst COVID-19 infection generally run a mild course in up to 80% of those affected, a number of pre-existing co-morbidities determine the severity of infection and the outcome in an individual patient. The most important of these co-morbidities that have consistently emerged in studies from across the globe, are the patients age and sex. Other important co-morbidities that adversely affect outcomes include pre-existing diabetes, obesity, hypertension, chronic lung disease and malignancy.