Covid-19 can make a person more susceptible to developing active tuberculosis as it is an "opportunistic" infection like black fungus but currently there is not enough evidence to suggest TB cases have risen due to the viral disease, the Union Health Ministry said.

The ministry said notification of tuberculosis cases had decreased by about 25 per cent in 2020 due to Covid-related restrictions and special efforts are being made to mitigate this impact through intensified case findings. In a statement, the Health Ministry said there have been some news reports alleging that a sudden rise in TB cases have been noticed among patients infected with Covid-19 recently, leaving doctors, who have been receiving around a dozen similar cases every day, worried.