A consortium of doctors and researchers from India, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa have partnered to conduct a study on the epidemiological impact and intersection of the Covid-19 and Tuberculosis (TB) pandemics in these countries.
The four countries currently rank second to fifth in the number of cases of Covid-19 and belong to 24 countries recognised by the WHO with the highest burden of tuberculosis in the world. Moreover, BRICS countries have the largest number of cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis.
“Under the joint research, the teams from these countries will explore the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the epidemiological characteristics of TB infection and search for mechanisms responsible for the interaction of these two processes,” said an official from the Union Science and Technology Ministry.
They will also search for strategies to mitigate the negative consequences of the pandemic and develop individual recommendations for each participating country.