Protocol 4. Management of tuberculosis and HIV coinfection

In eastern Europe there are independent epidemics of TB and HIV/AIDS, and a large majority of TB patients developed their disease without HIV-related immunosuppression. Among people living with HIV (PLHIV), the risk of acquiring TB is higher where the TB prevalence is high. In 2004, western and eastern European countries reported TB as the most frequent AIDS-indicative disease, with respective rates of 24% and 56% of newly reported AIDS cases. Unfortunately, knowledge of the real extent of TB/HIV coinfection in Europe is limited due to insufficient surveillance data. As the result of the recent dramatic increase of HIV prevalence in eastern Europe, as well as the high prevalence of TB there, it is expected that the number of TB/HIV patients will dramatically increase in the next few years.