Why does tuberculosis often co-infect HIV?

Tuberculosis is a disease caused by bacteria spreading in the air. While HIV weakens the immune system, it increases the risk of tuberculosis. This co-infection problem, if not detected early and actively controlled, will cause the patient's health to rapidly decline, co-infecting more chances of infection.

1. What is tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that can be transmitted from person to person. Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis germs often affect the lungs. Accordingly, pulmonary tuberculosis is a very common disease in underdeve edic out countries, with limited population and sanitation conditions. However, the disease can also attack any part of the body, including the lymph nodes, kidneys, bones or brain. If not treated, tuberculosis can cause impaired agency function, cause depletion of the body and can lead to death.

Tuberculosis spreads from person to person easily through the air. A person with pulmonary tuberculosis can spread droplets containing TB bacteria in the air, especially when coughing or sneezing. People who inhale TB bacteria can become infected with TB.

Upon entering the body, tuberculosis can be in an active form or in an inactive form. Inactive tuberculosis germs are called latent tuberculosis. Active tuberculosis will cause tuberculosis.

2. Why does tuberculosis often co-infect HIV?

Drug-resistant tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of death in people living with HIV

Worldwide, tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of death in people living with HIV. This is an opportunity infection – from the general only infectious diseases that can occur with more frequent frequency or with more severity in people with a weakened immune system in people with a healthy immune system. Therefore, therefore, the risk of HIV virus disease is to attack and damage the immune system, which will increase the risk of tuberculosis in people living with HIV.

When infected with both HIV and tuberculosis will be called co-infection with HIV and tuberculosis. Latent tuberculosis is more likely to progress toward active tuberculosis in hiv-infected people than in non-HIV-infected people. At the same time, tuberculosis may also present more severely in people living with HIV or it may worsen with HIV infection.

Treatment with HIV antiviral drugs reduces the viral load in the blood, thereby protecting the immune system and preventing or slowing HIV infection towards AIDS. Accordingly, in people with HIV and tuberculosis co-infection, antiviral drugs will also indirectly contribute to reducing the risk of potential tuberculosis turning into progressive tuberculosis or active tuberculosis will be easier to control.

3. Should people living with HIV be tested for tuberculosis?

HIV young children

All people living with HIV should be tested for tuberculosis

All people living with HIV should be tested for tuberculosis, at best at the time of HIV diagnosis.

If the test results show that the person has latent tuberculosis, additional tests should be performed in order to have evidence that excludes the possibility of active conversion of tuberculosis. The more tests are carried out, the sooner there are grounds to determine whether a person living with HIV is co-infected with tuberculosis and planning treatment.

In cases where the tests are negative, patients should continue to monitor and repeat screening tests periodically or when the patient has any symptoms of suspected pulmonary tuberculosis as well as tuberculosis at the agencies.

4. What are the symptoms of tuberculosis?

People with latent tuberculosis may not have any signs of the disease. However, if latent tuberculosis progresses to real tuberculosis, the person will begin to show signs of the disease. Common symptoms of tuberculosis include:

  • Persistent cough
  • Phlegmatic cough
  • Coughing up blood
  • Chest pain
  • tired
  • Eat out of appetite
  • Weight loss
  • Smoldering fever
  • Night sweats

Accordingly, when there is one of the above symptoms, it is necessary for the patient to have a lung scan, a tuberculosis smear test in the sysentary or bronchospasm if it is difficult to get a conversation to diagnose HIV co-infection with HIV early.

lao-phoi-co-chua-khoi-khong

Persistent cough, coughing up blood are typical symptoms of tuberculosis

5. How to treat tuberculosis in HIV-infected people?

In general, the treatment regimen for TUBERCULOSIS is similar for hiv-infected people and non-HIV-infected people. Tuberculosis medications are used to prevent latent tuberculosis from progressing to real tuberculosis or to kill tuberculosis germs when actively transformed. At this time, the choice of medication for tuberculosis and duration of treatment may be different, depending on whether a person has underlying tuberculosis or real tuberculosis.

In particular, on the hiv-based co-infection group of tuberculosis, both of these conditions should be treated in parallel.

However, namely, when to start treatment and what medications should be used depending on the circumstances, body condition of each person. Taking certain medications for HIV and tuberculosis at the same time can increase the risk of drug interactions as well as may make it difficult to control the side effects of the drug. Accordingly, hiv and tuberculosis co-infected subjects should be carefully monitored by infectious disease specialists in coordination with local centers for disease control.

In short, tuberculosis is a condition that requires active screening due to often co-infection with HIV. When there is evidence of active tuberculosis, patients need to quickly plan anti-tuberculosis treatment, in parallel with antiviral drug treatment. Only when so, damage to the body systems caused by tuberculosis germs is limited to the lowest level. Since then, people living with HIV have hoped to have a healthy life almost normally.

Reference source: Aidsinfo.nih.gov; Euro.who.int

SEE MORE:

  • Tuberculosis and HIV: What to Know
  • How long after exposure to HIV can HIV be tested?
  • Which pregnant women should be tested for tuberculosis?
SEE MORE:

  • Neurological damage in co-infected patients with TUBERCULOSIS and HIV
  • Is it possible to vaccinate adults and children over 1 year old?
  • Tests for TB bacteria

About: John Smith

b1ffdb54307529964874ff53a5c5de33?s=90&r=gI am the author of Share99.net. I had been working in Vinmec International General Hospital for over 10 years. I dedicate my passion on every post in this site.

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