HIV/AIDS & Tuberculosis: The Deadly Duo

Jun 29th, 2009 3:56 PM UTC
By Pooja Gupta

At a congressional briefing last Thursday, leading global health experts pushed for stronger U.S. leadership and more aggressive global policies to combat HIV/TB co-infection worldwide. The hearing coincided with the Center for Global Health Policy’s release of “Deadly Duo: The Synergy Between HIV/AIDS & Tuberculosis”, which echoed many of the main points of the briefing. The discussion, moderated by Christine Lubinski, director of the Center for Global Health Policy, included Dr. Diane Havlir, Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Dr. Carol Hamilton, co-chair of the Center’s Scientific Advisory Committee, and Rosemary Mburu, advocacy and policy coordinator for Kenya’s AIDS NGO Consortium (KANCO).

Both the hearing and the report warned that the recent success of HIV treatment is at risk due to the spread of tuberculosis. In the past two decades, the number of new cases of TB in HIV-prevalent countries has tripled – TB is now the number one killer of those infected with HIV in the developing world. Within two weeks of contracting HIV, Dr. Havlir explained, the risk of also contracting TB doubles. These catastrophic consequences of co-infection require immediate action.

The panelists emphasized the need to improve and ramp-up antiretroviral treatment, diagnostic tests, and research and development. Dr. Havlir also urged an earlier start for treatment. This early start, Havlir explained, would have dual benefits – it would improve survival rates of HIV-positive patients as well as lower the risk of contracting TB. Dr. Hamilton explained that outdated drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines are becoming less and less effective at combating the spread of TB. Even more dangerous, TB strains are developing faster than the drugs to combat them, resulting in drug-resistant strands of TB.

Mburu provided a face to the disease, recounting personal stories from the ground. A lack of labs to diagnose drug-resistant TB, compounded by a lack of accessibility to treatment and a lengthy delay in test results is causing an increase in TB deaths. “People are living with HIV, but it is TB that is killing them,” Mburu explained.

Lubinski ended the briefing with an aggressive call to action. She urged attendees to, “re-invigorate the energy [and] the passion” from HIV/AIDS research and development to fight against the increasingly disastrous consequences of TB.

Check out a webcast of the briefing here.

-Pooja Gupta

TAGS: HIV/AIDS, Policy News, Tuberculosis