Compendium of TB/COVID-19 studies

As the world comes together to tackle the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it is important to ensure that tuberculosis (TB) prevention and care approaches are adapting appropriately to offer uninterrupted, safe and high-quality TB services. Considering the similarity of TB and COVID-19 illnesses in disease presentation and transmission, as well as synergies in the response (e.g. prevention, infection control, adherence support, etc), the pandemic presents many questions for the TB field that require learning through research and innovation. 

In an effort to keep all relevant stakeholders up to date on this important issue, WHO Global TB Programme has developed open access databases for research publications, clinical trials and ongoing research projects at the interface of TB and COVID-19.

To avoid a reversal of progress from the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, new knowledge and lessons from successful programmatic innovations are urgently needed to improve TB prevention and care. Experience can provide evidence for innovative approaches and strategies to maintain and scale up high-quality TB services. WHO therefore called for case studies on programmatic innovations that address emerging challenges in TB prevention and care during the pandemic in order to collect and disseminate the findings to the TB community. Between November 2020 and February 2021, a total of 23 case studies relevant to the call were accepted from 19 countries in the six regions of WHO. The lessons learnt from these country activities to ensure the continuity of essential services like TB care in the face of the crippling crisis may also inform strategies for minimizing the impact of future emerging pathogens on health services.

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to adversely affect essential TB services in many countries. A first report of case studies was published in 2021 comprising 23 examples of innovative interventions implemented by countries to effectively respond to disruptions of TB services caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This second, consolidated report incorporates new case studies, as well as updates to previously reported case studies.

This initiative seeks to collect lessons learnt from countries and partners on innovative solutions being implemented to address programmatic barriers in the clinical, social and economic management of TB disease, created or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It envisions to communicate high quality case studies on WHO’s website to allow learning from the implementing countries. 

To keep current on the theoretical and scientific knowledge related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development and transmission of tuberculosis disease, we have created a digital library of publications. The library contains full text articles on different topics such as prevention, screening, clinical observation, treatment, and modelling,  to help stakeholders quickly find and access the latest information. It was constructed by manually screening both pre-print and peer reviewed publications on TB and COVID-19: the methodology used for literature search is accessible from the library.

The compendium of ongoing TB/COVID-19 research projects, provides a listing of ongoing research activities at the interface of TB and COVID-19, self-reported by research investigators from different countries. It maps multi-country efforts in the development of evidence for the co-management of TB and COVID-19, with a view to stimulate cooperation between scientists, funding institutions, policy makers, and civil society. The compendium also includes clinical trials on BCG vaccine testing against COVID-19.

If you want to contribute to these projects, you may do so using this online form.