Coinfection of SARS-CoV-2 and MTB: how not to miss the wood for the trees

Jacob, Jeny; Venkataram, Rajesh; Hosmane, Giridhar Belur

Scarce data exist about the coinfection of SARS‐CoV‐2 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). A young woman who was undergoing treatment for multiple sclerosis was brought to our hospital with a COVID-19 positive status. On further evaluation, her chest X-ray showed right upper and mid-zone opacity, which lead to the suspicion of MTB. Her sputum came positive for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) staining and cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) confirmed it, and rifampicin resistance was not detected. She was started on an antitubercular regimen. She was discharged, and by the end of the intensive phase of treatment, her symptoms subsided, but her sputum CBNAAT still showed the presence of TB bacillus.