STUDY SHOWS BENEFIT OF TREATING HIV, TB TOGETHER

A study found that pairing a tuberculosis (TB) drug with highly active antiretroviral (ARV) therapy is more effective than either therapy on its own at preventing full-blown TB in people with HIV. The results will be presented at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto.

The study, conducted by Johns Hopkins University scientists, reviewed the medical records of more 11,000 HIV-positive patients in Rio de Janeiro and found the risk of developing TB disease was reduced by 67 percent among those treated with both Isoniazid, a common TB drug, and triple therapy or highly active ARV therapy. Conversely, Isoniazid alone reduced the frequency of disease from TB by 32 percent. Highly active ARV therapy on its own reduced the risk of TB by 51 percent.

TB is the leading cause of death in South Africa among those with HIV/AIDS. It is widely accepted that HIV is fuelling the TB epidemic in South Africa. Each year worldwide more than 9 million new cases of TB are diagnosed, and more than 2 million people die from the disease.

The research was part of three ongoing studies by the Consortium to Respond Effectively to the AIDS/TB Epidemic, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.