Twenty-three suspected tuberculosis patients have tested positive for corona in the last one month at the TB hospital in Sewri, four of whom died during treatment.
According to the hospital dean, the symptoms of corona and TB are somewhat inter-related, so both confirmed and suspected TB patients need to be more vigilant.
Medical Superintendent Dr Lalit Anande said, last month 23 patients had been admitted to the hospital after they were suspected to be suffering from TB. Their swab samples were taken for analysis and tested positive for coronavirus. “It is difficult to identify whether a patient is suffering from TB or corona, as the symptoms are similar in both these illnesses. The 23 patients had been chest X-rayed and they were suspected TB cases, but the report revealed they were corona-positive,” he said.
Given the increasing number of corona cases in Mumbai, the TB hospital too has been roped in to treat Covid patients, with separate isolation wards being set up.
“Considering the seriousness of the matter, we immediately set up a separate corona ward in a building that lay vacant in the hospital premises and corona patients are being treated there,” said Dr Anande.
Currently, 44 of 67 corona patients in the hospital are its own staff. So far, five patients have succumbed to the illness and 10 have recovered and been discharged.
Further, said Dr Anande, to boost the immunity of patients, they were being administered Vitamin C. It has been learnt that patients who have developed pneumonia are at high risk of contracting corona.
“We have seen improvement in patients after they have been administered with Vitamin C, as it helps improve their lungs,” he added.