XDR-TB and HIV/AIDS
TB is one of the most common infections in people living with HIV/AIDS. In places where XDR-TB is most common, people living with HIV are at greater risk of becoming infected with XDR-TB, compared with people without HIV, because of their weakened immunity. If there are a lot of HIV-infected people in these places, then there will be a strong link between XDR-TB and HIV. Fortunately, in most of the places with high rates of HIV, XDR-TB is not yet widespread. For this reason, the majority of people with HIV who develop TB will have drug-susceptible or ordinary TB, and can be treated with standard first-line anti-TB drugs. For those with HIV infection, treatment with antiretroviral drugs will likely reduce the risk of becoming infected with XDR-TB, just as it does with ordinary TB.
A research study titled "TB Prevalence Survey and Evaluation of Access to TB Care in HIV-Infected and Uninfected TB Patients in Asembo and Gem, Western Kenya," says that HIV/AIDS is fueling large increases in TB incidence in Africa, and a large proportion of cases are not diagnosed.
Read more about this topic: Extensively Drug-resistant Tuberculosis
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