December 1, 2008
1 min read
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAmTuberculosis conspires with HIV to make the disease worse
In Africa, patients and doctors battle the double whammy of AIDS and TB
By Jordan Lite
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As AIDS has spread throughout sub-Saharan Africa, another infectious disease, tuberculosis (TB), has also proliferated. TB seizes on the immune-compromised bodies of people with AIDS, killing them more than any of the other "opportunistic infections" that patients are susceptible to. One-quarter of the estimated 1.6 million TB deaths annually in sub-Saharan Africa are among people with HIV or AIDS, according to Johns Hopkins University. But deaths can be cut by more than half if people with both infections are treated simultaneously with TB and anti-HIV drugs, Columbia University researchers have found.
Slide Show: Fighting HIV and TB in ravaged Africa
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