What is the impact of co-infection with TB and HIV?
Each disease speeds up the progress of the other, and TB considerably shortens the survival of people with HIV/AIDS. TB kills up to half of all AIDS patients worldwide. People who are HIV-positive and infected with TB are up to 50 times more likely to develop active TB in a given year than people who are HIV-negative. HIV infection is the most potent risk factor for converting latent TB into active TB, while TB bacteria accelerate the progress of AIDS infection in the patient. Many people infected with HIV in developing countries develop TB as the first manifestation of AIDS. The two diseases represent a deadly combination, since they more destructive together than either disease alone. • TB is harder to diagnose in HIV-positive people. • TB progresses faster in HIV-infected people. • TB in HIV-positive people is almost certain to be fatal if undiagnosed or left untreated. • TB occurs earlier in the course of HIV infection than many other opportunistic infections.
