Undernutrition, both before tuberculosis onset and at treatment initiation, as well as a lack of body mass index increase after intensive therapy, are associated with unfavorable TB outcomes, according to a recent study.
As headlines focus on COVID-19 and, now, monkeypox, tuberculosis remains one of the great scourges of infectious disease around the world. Approximately 1.5 million people died of tuberculosis in 2020, the World Health Organization reports.
BU Today: How prevalent is Lyme disease?
Pranay Sinha: Lyme disease is most common in the northeastern United States. The number of reported cases is likely an underestimate of actual cases. Some estimates put the annual Lyme cases at about 300,000 per year.
BU Today: Has COVID-19 affected the incidence of Lyme? One might assume it dropped last year as people curtailed outdoor activities, but as caregivers and hospitals were swamped with COVID patients, did the capacity to treat Lyme and other diseases suffer?
Pranay Sinha: The impact of COVID-19 on Lyme disease remains to be described through epidemiological studies. It is certainly possible that reduction in outdoor activities such as camping and hiking may have decreased the incidence of Lyme disease.