TY - JOUR AU - Soko, Rebecca Nzawa AU - Burke, Rachael AU - Feasey, Helena R.A. AU - Sibande, Wakumanya AU - Nliwasa, Marriott AU - Henrion, Marc Y.R. AU - Khundi, McEwen AU - Dodd, Peter AU - Ku, Chu Chang AU - Kawalazira, Gift AU - Choko, Augustine AU - Divala, Titus AU - Corbett, Elizabeth AU - MacPherson, Peter T1 - Effects of Coronavirus Disease Pandemic on Tuberculosis Notifications, Malawi T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2021 VL - 27 IS - 7 SP - 1831 SN - 1080-6059 AB - The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic might affect tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and patient care. We analyzed a citywide electronic TB register in Blantyre, Malawi and interviewed TB officers. Malawi did not have an official COVID-19 lockdown but closed schools and borders on March 23, 2020. In an interrupted time series analysis, we noted an immediate 35.9% reduction in TB notifications in April 2020; notifications recovered to near prepandemic numbers by December 2020. However, 333 fewer cumulative TB notifications were received than anticipated. Women and girls were affected more (30.7% fewer cases) than men and boys (20.9% fewer cases). Fear of COVID-19 infection, temporary facility closures, inadequate personal protective equipment, and COVID-19 stigma because of similar symptoms to TB were mentioned as reasons for fewer people being diagnosed with TB. Public health measures could benefit control of both TB and COVID-19, but only if TB diagnostic services remain accessible and are considered safe to attend. KW - respiratory infections KW - severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - SARS KW - COVID-19 KW - coronavirus disease KW - zoonoses KW - viruses KW - coronavirus KW - tuberculosis KW - bacteria KW - disease surveillance KW - health systems DO - 10.3201/eid2707.210557 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/27/7/21-0557_article ER - End of Reference