Alere Determine™ TB LAM Ag
TB & HIV
TB & HIV
TB is the leading cause of death amongst HIV-infected patients.
For the year 2012 there were1:
- 8.6 million incident cases of TB
- 1.0 million deaths from TB among HIV-negative people
- 1.1 million new TB cases among HIV-infected people
- 320,000 deaths from HIV-associated TB
Since the 1980s, the HIV epidemic has fuelled the resurgence of tuberculosis (TB) cases and deaths, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Countries in this region account for more than 80% of the world’s HIV/TB co-infections2.
TB risk continues to grow in HIV infected patients with advancing immunosuppression, indicated by a decrease in the CD4 cell count. Conversely, TB infection accelerates the progression to AIDS in HIV infected patients.
Approximately 1 in 4 deaths due to HIV infection are caused by TB2. The co-epidemic remains out of control.
TB is notoriously difficult to diagnose in HIV-infected people. Traditional diagnostic methods such as sputum smear microscopy are insensitive, with a single sputum sample yielding sensitivity between 22-43%3. Chest radiographs are unreliable and sputum culture is slow, expensive and requires technical expertise and infrastructure.
References
- Global Tuberculosis Control: WHO Report 2013 [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2013 [cited 2013]. 246 p. Available from: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/91355/1/9789241564656_eng.pdf
- Getahun H, Gunneberg C, Granich R, Nunn P. HIV infection-associated tuberculosis: the epidemiology and the response. Clin Infect Dis. 2010 May15;50(S3):S201-7.
- Getahun H, Harrington M, O’Brien R, Nunn P. Diagnosis of smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis in people with HIV infection or AIDS in resource-constrained settings: informing urgency policy changes. Lancet. 2007 Jun 16;369(9578):2042-49.
