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Josephine Chinele, CNS Correspondent, Malawi Over 50% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Malawi develop TB at some point of time and 7% of TB patients die whilst on treatment. International Union against TB and Lung Disease Press Statement titled TB 2016 and AIDS 2016: Jointly Tackling the Co-epidemic released in July this year says that these diseases together make up a co-epidemic, posing unique challenges to individuals and communities that bear the burden of both diseases at the same time. This is deeply entangling, particularly in sub-Saharan African countries like Malawi, as TB has become the leading cause of death among those who are HIV-positive, despite the fact that today HIV infection can be managed with antiretroviral therapy (ART), and TB can be cured in the vast majority of cases. When a person develops HIV, the immune system loses its ability to fight off infections, making him/her more vulnerable to developing other diseases like TB. PLHIV are especially vulnerable t...

Francis Okoye, CNS Correspondent, Nigeria Medical and historical evidence now abound, showing that the world cannot fight AIDS by ignoring TB. In 2015, the world recorded 10.4 million new TB cases of which people living with HIV (PLHIV) accounted for 1.2 million (11%) cases. There were an estimated 1.4 million TB deaths, with 400,000 deaths resulting from TB disease among PLHIV. The risk of developing TB is 26-31 times greater in PLHIV. Nearly 75% of PLHIV who contract TB live in sub-Saharan Africa. In some countries in this region, up to 80% of individuals with active TB disease are also HIV-positive. TB-HIV co-infection increasingly poses a risk to people living in other regions as well. Around 30% of all people who become sick with TB live in Asia, where TB accounts for 40% of AIDS related deaths. Eastern Europe too has the fastest-growing HIV epidemic globally, making this region vulnerable to increasing TB-HIV co-infection as well. In a webinar organized for the media by Citize...

Shobha Shukla, Citizen News Service - CNS Both TB and HIV pose serious health risks. But when these two infections join together, the result is a potentially lethal co-epidemic of TB-HIV. Their coexistence is similar to opposites attracting each other despite glaring differences like two unlike poles of a magnet. They are two linked epidemics that must be fought together, in order to make significant progress in ending both.  The facts are alarming. People living with HIV (PLHIV) are 26 times more likely to develop TB than those without HIV infection and TB is the predominant cause of death for PLHIV, responsible in 2015 for 1 in 3of these deaths. In 2015, there were an estimated 10.4 million new TB cases worldwide, 1.2 million (11%) being in PLHIV. Also of the estimated 1.4 million TB deaths in 2015, 400,000 deaths were among PLHIV. 40-80% of HIV infected people with TB have extra pulmonary disease, compared with 10-20% of people without HIV. PLHIV also face increased threat of ...

Aarti Dhar, CNS Correspondent, India (First published in theindiasaga.com) Tuberculosis (TB) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) pose a serious health risk. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) , the risk of developing TB is estimated to be between 26 and 31 times greater in people living with HIV (PLHIV). In 2015, there were an estimated 10.4 million new TB cases worldwide, of which PHLIV accounted for 1.2 million (11%) cases. TB caused 400,000 deaths among the PLHIV of the 1.4 million who died of TB in the same year. The TB-HIV co-infection is potentially lethal combination. When a person develops HIV, his/her immune system loses its ability to fight off infections, making him/her more vulnerable to other infections like TB. PLHIV are especially vulnerable to TB in countries where TB is common. Roughly, 75% of PLHIV who contract TB live in sub-Saharan Africa. In some countries of this region, up to 80% of individuals with active TB disease are also HIV-positive. TB-HIV...