1. INTRODUCTION
The first case of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was reported in December of 2019 in Wuhan, China 1,2. According to the world health organization (WHO), since the outbreak of COVID-19 until December 6th, 2020, the pandemic has affected 66.6 million people worldwide and has claimed 1.3 million victims. The first cases of the novel coronavirus from 19th to 23rd of February 2020, was reported to be 43 infections and 8 deaths 3. As numerous retrospective studies state, pandemics of respiratory diseases like Influenza are among the most important causes of mortality and their association with mortality rates of tuberculosis patients have been studied 4-6. Co-infections of tuberculosis with other coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-1 in 2003 and MERS-CoV in 2012 are documented 7-9.
Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that targets the lungs. Its symptoms include respiratory problems and lung involvement which are similar to symptoms of the COVID-19 infection therefore it’s a big concern during the pandemic. It is estimated that 1.7 billion people are infected by tuberculosis worldwide and according to WHO, 10 million people got infected by tuberculosis in 2019 thus tuberculosis infection is among the 10 leading causes of mortality in the world10. Tuberculosis patients are at high risk for COVID-19 infection since their symptoms are diagnosed and reported later. Hence, evaluation and screening of tuberculosis patients are important for their quick diagnosis and treatment. This study was conducted in tuberculosis center of Abadan, Iran to investigate SARS-CoV-2 in tuberculosis patients for a timely diagnosis of the co-infection and its treatment.