During the pandemic, while symptoms like cough and fever are being flagged as suspected cases of COVID-19, city doctors are also dealing with cases where patients who test positive for the virus, are also suffering from tuberculosis (TB). However, experts say the number of such cases are fewer than expected. Since March, there have been 135 cases of COVID-19 and TB together, many of which were new detections.

Since both diseases are communicable, majority of the patients with both COVID and TB were treated at the Sewri TB Hospital, where a separate ward was set up for such patients a few months ago. Dr Lalitkumar Anande, medical superintendent of Sewri TB hospital, said that the ward has a capacity of 60 beds where roughly half the patients are COVID positive while the other half are suspected cases. "Many healthcare workers had also tested positive, and as the references started coming in, we had more patients suffering from COVID and TB," he said.