Very poor long-term outcomes for people with TB and HIV in Eastern Europe
The rates of tuberculosis (TB) recurrence and mortality in people with HIV in eastern Europe remain concerningly high and continue to be a clinical and public health challenge, according to a paper published in AIDS. In the first study to report on long-term follow-up of TB/HIV co-infected patients in eastern Europe, one in seven people had TB again and over half died.
Despite a consistent decrease in TB cases across Europe since 2000, with a 25% reduction in 2016-2020 alone, two major challenges remain: a high prevalence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and high rates of TB/HIV co-infection, especially in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Co-infections in the region are often associated with injecting drug use and hepatitis C (HCV), which jeopardise health care and outcomes.
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