HIV TUBERCULOSIS COINFECTION - A REQUEST FOR A BETTER SURVEILLANCE/

The increasing endemicity of tuberculosis resulting from causes such a s immigration, poverty, a declining public health infrastructure and c o-infection by HIV/Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is leading to a change in tuberculosis control programmes. One of the main reasons for the re surgence of tuberculosis is HIV infection - the risk of tuberculosis i s greater in HIV patients than in the majority of the population as ca n be seen from numerous research projects. The need for systematic tes ting for HIV infection in all tuberculosis patients by undertaking con fidential HIV tests on admission to a tuberculosis programme is brough t our. This measure would increase the number of cases diagnosed and p rovide data far better surveillance of the co-infection.