Tuberculosis killed more people with HIV than ever in 2007, according to a new report released by the World Health Organization. The report shows a closer connection between tuberculosis and HIV than had previously been known. More exactly, roughly a quarter of people who died from tuberculosis in 2007 were HIV patients.

 

Additionally, of a total of 9.3 million new tuberculosis cases worldwide in 2007, 1.4 million or 15 percent occurred in people infected with HIV. There were 1.8million deaths caused by tuberculosis, 456,000 of which occurring in HIV people. Overall, the number of people infected with both diseases is roughly twice as high as found by the United Nations agency in previous years.

 

The numbers made WHO officials to stress an urgent need to test people living with HIV to get tested for tuberculosis.

 

“These findings point to an urgent need to find, prevent and treat TB in people living with HIV and to test for HIV in all patients with TB. Countries can only do that through stronger collaborative programmes and stronger health systems that address both diseases,” Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, said.

 

A report presented last year at the 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico City stated that of the 33 million HIV-positive people worldwide, only 314,394 individuals had been tested for tuberculosis, Persons living with HIV/AIDS are 50 times more likely to develop tuberculosis, than those who are HIV negative, the researchers cautioned, according to the same source. Without treatment, approximately 90 percent of persons living with HIV/AIDS die within a few months of developing tuberculosis.