The 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day is December 1, 2008. It is important for all of us to remember that tuberculosis (TB) is the most common, infectious, cause of death among people living with HIV/AIDS.
The threat of TB and HIV demands urgent action to tackle this growing co-epidemic.
The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) is a proud original supporter of the Global Plan to Stop TB. Full funding and implementation of the Global Plan will help accelerate development of critically needed new tools-including more accurate, rapid diagnostics and faster and better new drugs-essential to diagnose and properly treat the growing number of people co-infected with HIV and TB.
The majority of cases of tuberculosis in people living with HIV occur in sub-Saharan Africa, where up to 80% of TB patients may be co-infected with HIV. Improved screening for TB of all those living with HIV is a global priority. Without proper TB treatment, approximately 90% of people with HIV die within two to three months of contracting tuberculosis.
Anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy is today's most effective, available treatment option for controlling the progression of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Unfortunately, drug-drug interactions between the current first-line TB treatment regimen and certain commonly used ARVs complicate treatment for co-infected patients. People with HIV/AIDS who contract TB must sometimes change their ARV regimens to avoid this dangerous interaction, or delay needed ARV treatment until their TB is under control.
This past June marked the first HIV-TB Global Leaders' Forum, held at the United Nations. It was the first time world leaders, senior political officials, activists, and global health experts gathered to specifically address the dual threat of HIV and TB. Participants emphasized the need for accelerated scale-up of collaborative activities to control HIV and TB as the number of people infected with both diseases, or at risk of developing both, is rising worldwide.
The outcome of the meeting was a Call to Action addressed to delegates from UN member states. Among the issues raised in the Call to Action is the urgent need for new and better TB drugs, diagnostics and vaccines -- particularly for people living with HIV/AIDS -- and the recognition of HIV and TB as formidable constraints to socioeconomic development.
The TB Alliance is leading the development of new, faster and better TB drugs that will avoid ARV interactions. New shorter regimens would also speed time to cure for patients severely weakened by the deadly co-infection.
The development of a shorter, simpler TB treatment regimen is just the beginning. A new drug combination will only be effective when it reaches patients. TB is a disease of the poor - 90 percent of TB cases and 98 percent of deaths occur in the developing world. In high burden countries, the people most in need of a better cure are often those most difficult to reach. The TB Alliance is committed to ensuring that new TB drugs are affordable, widely adopted, and available to those who need them.