UNAIDS Secretariat Joins ‘Stop TB’ Initiative, Stresses Close Links Between HIV and Tuberculosis

Joint United Nations Programme on, HIV/AIDS
t tEI (Ea LET
UNICEF oUNDP 0 UNFPA o UNDOP
SUNESCO o WHO o WORLD BANK
US Media Office [phone]
UNAIDS SECRETARIAT JOPNS 'STOP T2' ITATIVE, STRESSES
CLOSE LNKS BETWEEN HIV AND TUBERCULOSOS
Amsterdam, 23 March 2000 -The secretariat of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS) has officially joined the 'Stop TB' Initiative, a broad partnership to halt the spread of
tuberculosis around the world. The initiative is hosted by the World Health Organization, a Cosponsor
of UNAIDS.
"There is still insufficient understanding of the close links between TB and HIV," said Peter Plot,
Executive Director of UNAIDS. "The two epidemics work hand in hand. In some parts of Africa, their
deadly synergy has quadrupled the number of TB cases over the past ten years." Dr Plot was
speaking on the eve of World TB Day at the opening session of the Ministerial Conference on
Tuberculosis and Sustainable Development in Amsterdam.
"UNAIDS' participation in the Stop TB Initiative is crucial in order to effectively address the dual
epidemic," said Dr Arata Kochi, Director of the Stop TB Initiative.
About a third of the world's population, or around 2 billion people, carry the TB bacteria but most
never develop the active disease. "Usually, no more than 10% of people infected with TB develop TB
disease," said Dr Piot. "That is changing. HIV severely weakens the human immune system, making
people highly vulnerable to diseases such as TB. When healthy carriers of the TB bacteria get HIV
infection, their risk of developing active TB increases by a factor of over 30."
More than 33 million people worldwide are infected with HIV, and 95% are in developing countries,
where the highest rates of TB infection are found. Today, about 11 million people are dually infected
with TB and HIV.
Globally, HIV is responsible for 15% of all new TB cases, and is the major cause for the rise in TB
cases in southern and southeastern Africa. In South Africa and Uganda, for example, half of all
TB patients are also HIV-positive. In Zambia, one in five adults is infected with HIV, and new TB
cases have increased from 7000 a year in 1984 to 40,000 in 1995, with an estimated 30,000 of the
new cases due to HIV.
The dual TB-tIV epidemic is also causing concern in Asia, where 70% of all TB cases are
concentrated. In Cambodia, an estimated 20% of TB patients are HIV-positive while in India, 60% of
AIDS patients are estimated to have tuberculosis. In Thailand, TB has become the most common
opportunistic infection among AIDS patients.

5571095.0368.019