UNAIDS committed to helping reduce TB/HIV co-infection

Mar 24, 2009 News

Significant progress has been made in the local Health Ministry’s fight against Tuberculosis (TB) which is evident in the fewer number of cases of the disease detected last year, according to Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy.

He said that the public health sector has been able to manage and prevent TB deaths but noted that there was a notable amount of deaths among persons who were co-infected with TB and HIV/AIDS.

There has however been a reduction in the co-infection rate, the Minister revealed, pointing out that two years ago, 28 per cent of persons who tested positive for TB also tested positive for HIV, a percentage which was reduced last year.

For this reason, the Minister noted that the focus on World TB Day, which is being observed today under the theme ‘I am stopping TB’, would focus on the co-infection rate.

And the Ministry of Health’s effort to address this public health challenge will gain the support of UNAIDS.

At least this is according to a release issued yesterday by the UN entity.

According to the release, Country Coordinator for Guyana and Suriname, Dr. Ruben del Prado, stated that UNAIDS will scale-up its collaboration with the Government of Guyana to help stop people living with HIV from dying of tuberculosis (TB).

He highlighted the importance of addressing HIV and TB together, and that more has to be done in the area of TB, even though the disease seems to be on the decline in Guyana.

It was noted that the occurrence of TB in Guyana is still unacceptably high, and that much good work is being done by the Ministry of Health, to further continue the decline in the cases of tuberculosis, over the last four years.

As a result, del Prado underscored that Guyana is doing better than many countries thus the need to support the Ministry of Health to maintain the downward trend.

One of the priorities for UNAIDS and its United Nations partners, especially the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), will be to support the national efforts in Guyana in its fight to prevent co-infected persons from dying.

“Tuberculosis remains a global emergency, despite being preventable and curable, and it is one of the commonest causes of illness and death among people living with HIV, even when we are increasingly able to provide people living with HIV, free access to anti-retroviral therapy,” Dr. del Prado disclosed.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that spreads from person to person through the air and usually affects the lungs.

The tuberculosis bacteria that are put into the air when a person with TB of the lung coughs or sneezes can also affect other parts of the body, such as the brain, the kidneys or the spine.

TB is a leading cause of HIV-related deaths worldwide. In countries with high HIV prevalence, up to 80 per cent of people with TB also test positive for HIV.

Worldwide, an estimated 230,000 people living with HIV will die as a result of TB.