Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Mail & Guardian Online - March 26, 2008
Rise in TB linked to HIV: Efforts to combat the spread of tuberculosis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been slowed by the problem of TB patients also infected with HIV, local health officials said.
"The disease [TB] is on the increase because there is a link with HIV -- there are co-infected patients," said Guylaine Tshitenge, an activist of the National Anti-Tuberculosis League NGO in DRC during a march organised in Kinshasa on March 24 to mark the World Day to Combat Tuberculosis.
DRC Minister of Health Makwenge Kaput said close to 100 000 cases of TB were recorded in the DRC in 2006, ranking the country 11th of the 22 states most affected by TB in the world and fourth in Africa.
"TB is still a serious public health problem despite the policy of free medication available across the country," said Kaput.
According to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Control 2008, released on March 17, the pace of progress to control the TB epidemic slowed slightly in 2006. From 2001 to 2005 the average rate at which new TB cases were detected was increasing by 6% a year, but between 2005 and 2006 the rate was cut in half to 3%.
About 1,5-million people died from TB in 2006, according to the WHO. Another 200 000 people with HIV died from HIV-associated diseases.
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