The number of people infected with both tuberculosis and HIV is twice than what researchers previously estimated,a UN health agency report said. The annual report released by the World Health Organization reveals that one out of four TB deaths is HIV related,twice as many as previously recognised. In 2007,there were an estimated 1.37 million new cases of tuberculosis among HIV-infected people and 456,000 deaths. About 700,000 people were infected with both in 2006. "These findings point to an urgent need to find,prevent and treat tuberculosis in people living with HIV and to test for HIV in all patients with TB in order to provide prevention,treatment and care. Countries can only do that through stronger collaborative programmes and stronger health systems that address both diseases," said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan. The report reveals a sharp increase in HIV testing among people being treated for TB,especially in Africa. In 2004,just four per cent of TB patients in the region were tested for HIV,in 2007 that number rose to 37 per cent,with several countries testing more than 75 per cent of TB patients for their HIV status. This figure reflects an improvement in the quality of the country data,which are now more representative and available from more countries than in previous years. However,the number of new tuberculosis cases remained stable in 2007 and the percentage of the world's population becoming ill with the disease has continued the slow decline. Because of increased testing for HIV among TB patients,more people are getting appropriate treatment though the numbers still remain a small fraction of those in need. In 2007,200,000 HIV-positive TB patients were enrolled on co-trimoxazole treatment to prevent opportunistic infections and 100,000 were on antiretroviral therapy. "We have to stop people living with HIV from dying of tuberculosis," said Executive Director of UNAIDS Michel Sidibe. "Universal access to HIV prevention,treatment,care and support must include TB prevention,diagnosis and treatment. When HIV and TB services are combined,they save lives." TB/HIV co-infection and drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis present the greatest challenges,the report says and expresses concerns over an increasing shortage in funding. To meet the 2009 milestones in the Stop TB Partnership's Global Plan,the funding shortfall for these 94 countries has risen to about USD 1.5 billion. "The financial crisis must not derail the implementation of the Global Plan to Stop TB. Now is the time to scale-up financing for effective interventions for the prevention,treatment and care of TB worldwide," said Michel Kazatchkine,Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,Tuberculosis and Malaria.
