TB and HIV: A Deadly Duo
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As we commemorate Dr. Robert Koch’s 1882 discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis, we are reminded of the many advances over the past 129 years in TB control. Through the intervention efforts of CDC, USAID, WHO’s Stop TB Partnership, and many others, TB death rates have fallen by 35% since 1990, and as many as 6 million lives have been saved since 1995.
In spite of these successes, TB still remains a serious threat, especially for those infected with HIV. HIV is the single most powerful risk factor for TB disease and one of the leading causes of death among people infected with HIV. Among the 1.7 million lives that TB claimed in 2009, 380,000 were among people with HIV infection. While people with HIV who have TB can be effectively diagnosed and treated, more effort is needed to diagnose and treat TB promptly and effectively, and to scale-up preventive treatment for TB.
World TB Day presents CDC and its partners with a prime opportunity to discuss TB/HIV-related problems and solutions while renewing our support for worldwide TB control efforts. This special session of Public Health Grand Rounds shed light on myths and misconceptions about TB and HIV, and discussed actions needed in preventing deaths from this lethal combination.
- Kenneth G. Castro, MD
- Director, Division of Tuberculosis Elimination
National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, CDC
- Jay Varma, MD
- Chief, International Emerging Infections Program - China
Division of Global Disease Detection and Response
Center for Global Health, CDC
- Kevin Cain, MD
- Chief, TB/HIV Team, International Research and Programs Branch
Division of TB Elimination
National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC
- Taraz Samandari, MD, PhD
- Chief, Epidemiology Branch, Division of HIV Prevention
National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis STD, and TB Elimination, CDC
- Mario Raviglione, MD
- Director, STOP TB Department
World Health Organization
- Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH
- Former Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
CDC, ASTDR
- Tanja Popovic, MD, PhD
- Scientific Director
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