Lancet Series: Tuberculosis in the time of COVID-19
Executive Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on global tuberculosis control efforts, reversing years of progress towards WHO End TB Strategy targets. Wide-ranging efforts are needed to tackle these intersecting pandemics, the leading infectious causes of death worldwide.
In the first of a Series of three papers, Keertan Dheda and colleagues review the effects of COVID-19 on global efforts to reduce the burden of tuberculosis, identifying points of intersection between the two pandemics and highlighting new strategies for tuberculosis control. Hanif Esmail and colleagues focus on opportunities to optimise the management of tuberculosis across the disease spectrum. Finally, Grant Theron and colleagues address challenges in tuberculosis diagnostics, considering the promise of rapid, sputum-free diagnostic technologies and tests with potential for decentralised deployment.
