Higher mortality in HIV-2/HTLV-1 co-infected patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, compared to HIV-2-positive HTLV-1-negative patients

HIV/HTLV-1 co-infected patients hospitalized for pulmonary TB had a high mortality and had significantly higher CD4% compared to only HIV-positive subjects. This may imply that HTLV-1 has an adverse effect on the immune system in HIV-infected subjects, independently of the CD4 count, that makes co-infected subjects more vulnerable to TB.