|
|
|
AFRICA: Stronger effort urged among HIV and TB workers
JOHANNESBURG, 19 March (PLUSNEWS) - Efforts against HIV/AIDS are "a losing battle" unless health care workers, aid agencies and governments cooperate in eliminating tuberculosis (TB), an official of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.
The director of the WHO "Stop TB" programme, Dr Mario Raviglione, warned that if an HIV-positive individual received antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV, but was not treated for TB, the person would likely die within months.
Raviglione was quoted by the Washington Times as saying: "In the nations with the highest rates of HIV, between 60 and 80 percent of all those infected with TB are also HIV-positive. Between 30 and 40 percent of all HIV-positive patients will get TB. We badly need interaction between these two communities."
WHO research shows that TB - usually curable with a US $10 regimen of antibiotics - is the leading killer of HIV-positive people worldwide.
[ENDS]
MORE NEWS BRIEFS
|
|
|
|
[Back] [Home Page]
Click to send any feedback, comments or questions you have about IRIN's Website or if you prefer you can send an Email to
The material contained on this Web site comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post any item on this site, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All graphics and Images on this site may not be re-produced without the express permission of the original owner. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004
|
