Other Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases such as hepatitis, meningitis, and tuberculosis (TB) remain a serious global threat to people living with HIV.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that one-third of the world's population is living with TB. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that in 2012 there were 8.6 million new cases of TB, of which 1.1 million were among people living with HIV. People living with HIV are approximately 30 times more likely to develop TB than persons without HIV. Globally, TB is a leading cause of death among people with HIV, causing one in five HIV-related deaths.

Co-infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HIV is common, with 70 - 90% of HIV-infected individuals in the United States having evidence of past or active HBV infection. About one quarter of people with HIV in the United States are also living with Hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Medical, public health, and community experts and activists around the globe are studying and developing better ways to identify, treat, and prevent the complex health and social consequences of HIV when co-infection with TB, HCV, or other infectious diseases is involved. Most of these diseases are poorly understood by the general public and even people affected by HIV who are not themselves co-infected. Unfortunately, stigma continues to accompany infectious diseases other than HIV, particularly when those diseases disproportionately manifest in already marginalized and vulnerable communities, including intravenous drug users, the poor, the incarcerated, and immigrants.

This HIV Policy Resource Bank category includes white papers and reports, medical guides and fact sheets, research and journal articles, advocacy toolkits, and other materials on infectious diseases and on HIV/infectious disease co-infection.