Childhood tuberculosis and infection with the human immunodeficiency virus

TB in HIV-infected individuals is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries and poses enormous problems to the health services. Despite the availability of curative therapy, the incidence of TB in children and adults is increasing at an alarming rate and poses a grave threat to TB control programmes in developing countries. Prospective studies to define basic clinical, microbiological and epidemiological features of the resurgence of childhood TB in the light of the HIV epidemic are required.