Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new name given by World Health Organization (WHO) of 2019 novel corona virus infection, reported at the end of 2019 from Wuhan, Cina. The spread of infection occurs rapidly and creates a new pandemic threat. Etiology of COVID-19 was identified in 10 January 2020, a betacorona virus, similar with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS CoV). The clue diagnosis pathway of COVID-19 were history of travel from Wuhan or others infected countries within 14 days prior, and symptoms of acute respiratory illness (ARI) or lower respiratory infection (pneumonia) with the result of real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) specific for COVID-19. The WHO classified COVID-19 into suspect case, probable case and confirmed case. Indonesia Ministry of Health classified the case into in monitoring (ODP), patient under surveillance (PDP), people without symptom (OTG) and confirmed case. Specimens for detection COVID-19 could be acquired from nasal and nasopharynx swab, sputum and another lower respiratory aspirate including broncoalveolar lavage (BAL). Management of COVID-19 consist of isolation and infection control, supportive treatment according to the disease severity which could be mild (acute respiratory infection) to severe pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Disease transmission is via droplets and contact with droplets. Currently, there is no antiviral and vaccine. Prevention is very important for this disease by limitation of transmission, identification and isolate patients. Prognosis is determined by severity of the disease and patient comorbidity. Information about this novel disease remains very few, studies are still ongoing and is needing further research to fight with this new virus. (J Respir Indo. 2020; 40(2): 120-30)

ObjectivesChronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) can complicate recovery from pulmonary TB. CPA may also be misdiagnosed as bacteriologically negative TB. This study aimed to determine the incidence of CPA in patients treated for TB in Indonesia, a country with a high incidence of TB.MethodsIn this prospective, longitudinal cohort study in patients treated for pulmonary TB, clinical, radiological and laboratory findings were analysed. Sputum was collected for fungal culture and TB PCR. Patients were assessed at baseline (0–8 weeks) and at the end (5–6 months) of TB therapy. CPA diagnosis was based on symptoms (≥3 months), characteristic radiological features and positive Aspergillus serology, and categorised as proven, probable and possible.ResultsOf the 216 patients recruited, 128 (59%) were followed up until end of TB therapy. At baseline, 91 (42%) had microbiological evidence for TB. Aspergillus-specific IgG was positive in 64 (30%) patients and went from negative to positive in 16 (13%) patients during TB therapy. The incidence rates of proven and probable CPA at baseline were 6% (n=12) and 2% (n=5) and end of TB therapy 8% (n=10) and 5% (n=7), respectively. Six patients (two with confirmed TB) developed an aspergilloma. Diabetes mellitus was a significant risk factor for CPA (p=0.040). Persistent cough (n=5, 50%; p=0.005) and fatigue (n=6, 60%; p=0.001) were the most common symptoms in CPA.ConclusionCPA should be considered a relatively frequent differential diagnosis in patients with possible or proven TB in Indonesia. Lack of awareness and limited access to Aspergillus-specific IgG tests and CT imaging are obstacles in establishing a CPA diagnosis.

Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is a common sequela of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The diagnosis of CPA is difficult and often misdiagnosed as smear-negative TB in endemic settings. Aspergillus IgG detection is the cornerstone of CPA diagnosis. There are a lack of studies on the prevalence of CPA in GeneXpert/smear-negative TB patients in Indonesia, despite a high number of TB cases. This study aims to determine the CPA rate in HIV-negative, GeneXpert-negative patients presenting with symptoms following completion of TB therapy and to evaluate the performance of LDBio Aspergillus immunochromatographic technology (ICT) lateral flow assay in the diagnosis of CPA. CPA was diagnosed on the basis of symptoms for ≥3 months, characteristic chest imaging and positive Aspergillus culture. Twenty (22%) out of 90 patients met the criteria for CPA. The LDBio test was positive in 16 (80%) CPA patients and in 21 (30%) non-CPA patients (p < 0.001) with 80% sensitivity and 70% specificity. Logistic regression revealed a positive LDBio Aspergillus ICT result, smoking history and diabetes to be important predictors of CPA diagnosis. Although CPA is an unrecognised disease in Indonesia, this study suggests that more than one in five GeneXpert negative patients with persistent symptoms following completion of TB therapy may have CPA.

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Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of adult death in the Asia-Pacific Region, including Indonesia. As an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), TB remains a major public health issue especially in developing nations due to the lack of adequate diagnostic testing facilities. Diagnosis of TB has entered an era of molecular detection that provides faster and more cost-effective methods to diagnose and confirm drug resistance in TB cases, meanwhile, diagnosis by conventional culture systems requires several weeks. New advances in the molecular detection of TB, including the faster and simpler nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS), have resulted in a shorter time for diagnosis and, therefore, faster TB treatments. In this review, we explored the current findings on molecular diagnosis of TB and drug-resistant TB to see how this advancement could be integrated into public health systems in order to control TB.