Tuberculosis patients living with HIV spikes ten times in five years

Vietnam is among 22 nations in the world with the most serious tuberculosis pandemic. Tuberculosis is affecting some 44% of the country’s population, said Dr Do Chau Giang, HCM City-based Pham Ngoc Thach at the meeting to celebrate the World Day of combating tuberculosis March 24.
In 2004, it is reported that Vietnam has 154,000 tuberculosis patients which claimed lives of 20,000 people. Tuberculosis patients in HCM City account for 13% of the national figure.
Until 2004, the country had 81,206 tuberculosis patients with full-blown HIV, in which 85% is male and 90% of the tuberculosis patients with HIV are in the age cohort of 25-44. According to Giang, the fact that the number of full-blown HIV patients is on the rise by ten times within five years is the biggest challenge to the fight against tuberculosis. It is requested by doctors from Pham Ngoc Thach hospital that efforts should be made to integrate the fight against tuberculosis into Aids campaigns.

 

Category: Health