HIV and tuberculosis coinfection: inextricably linked liaison

In sub-Saharan Africa, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Sub-Saharan Africa has seen the woeful failure of World Health Organization (WHO) targets of detecting 70% of the infectious cases of tuberculosis and curing > or =85%. Current treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in most resource limited settings is comprised of a four-drug initial antituberculosis regimen for two months, followed by either a two-drug continuation phase of antituberculosis regimen for four months or six months depending on the medications. Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are scaling up with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), using one of the first-line regimens that consist of two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) and one non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). Our current HAART regimen and antituberculosis drugs continue to give us a therapeutic challenge in terms of adverse effects, drug-drug interactions and immune reconstitution inflammatory syndromes. Scientific research is needed in the areas of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa. Such research could be facilitated due to greater availability of funding than a decade ago.