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. 2022 May 17:28:100319.
doi: 10.1016/j.jctube.2022.100319. eCollection 2022 Aug.

Emerging threat of drug-resistant tuberculosis and trends in the era of COVID-19: A descriptive study from northwestern Nigeria

Farouq Muhammad Dayyab  1 , Garba Iliyasu  2 , Bashir Garba Ahmad  3 , Ibrahim Aliyu Umar  4 , Nura Musa Shuaib  5 , Mamman Bajehson  6 , Ibrahim Muhammad Daiyab  7 , Oji Akpala  1 , Olaoye Remilekun  1 , Abdulrazaq Garba Habib  2 ; For Kano TB Concilium Experts
Affiliations
Free PMC article

Emerging threat of drug-resistant tuberculosis and trends in the era of COVID-19: A descriptive study from northwestern Nigeria

Farouq Muhammad Dayyab et al. J Clin Tuberc Other Mycobact Dis. .
Free PMC article

Abstract

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis with resistance to first line and second line anti tuberculous drugs is a serious setback in the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). The COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a serious threat that could unwind the recent gains made thus far in the control of tuberculosis. This study aims to explore the pattern of drug resistant tuberculosis (DRTB) in our institution. We also aimed to explore the changing trends of TB in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This descriptive study included all DRTB patients admitted and managed in the hospital between January 2018 and December 2020. We compare TB case detection in the facility before and after COVID-19 pandemic. Drug susceptibility testing were expressed as frequencies and percentages.

Results: The study found that there was 66.03%, 45.09% and 77.78% drop in case detection of drug-sensitive TB (DSTB), DRTB and Fluoroquinolone (FQ) resistant TB respectively in the year 2020 compared to 2019. The drop in cases was similar when the year 2020 was compared to 2018. Among the 132 patients in the cohort, resistance to isoniazid, fluoroquinolones and second-line injectable agents were reported as 23.48%, 12.88%, and 31.06% respectively.

Conclusion: We question the potential reason why a drop in tuberculosis cases was observed in the year 2020 and we alert the Nigerian authorities that COVID-19 control efforts going hand-in-hand with intensified TB case finding and surveillance efforts and initiating proper TB treatment for persons with active TB are urgently needed.

Keywords: COVID-19; Drug-resistant TB; Nigeria; Tuberculosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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