Two Diseases, One Fight The TB-HIV Co-infection

TB is the leading cause of death among people living with HIV (PLHIV). One in five HIV-related deaths is caused by TB. Untreated TB in people with HIV can lead to death in weeks.

It is estimated that one-third of the 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are coinfected with TB. Around 75 per cent of coinfected patients live in the African Region. People living with HIV and infected with TB are 30 times more likely to develop active TB disease than people without HIV. TB is also more difficult to diagnose in people living with HIV.

The new Post-2015 Global Strategy and Targets For Tuberculosis Prevention, Care and Control, strives to end TB as a global pandemic (an average less than 10 tuberculosis cases per 100 000 population) and to cut the number of deaths from TB by 95% by 2035.