Tuberculosis and HIV co-infection in Vietnam

Tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are leading causes of disease and death in Vietnam, but TB/HIV disease trends and the profile of co-infected patients are poorly described.MethodsWe examined national TB and HIV notification data to provide a geographic overview and describe relevant disease trends within Vietnam. We also compared the demographic and clinical profiles of TB patients with and without HIV infection.ResultsDuring the past 10 years (2005–2014) cumulative HIV case numbers and deaths increased to 298,151 and 71,332 respectively, but access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) improved and new infections and deaths declined. From 2011-2014 routine HIV testing of TB patients increased from 58.9% to 72.5% and of all TB patients diagnosed with HIV in 2014, 2,803 (72.4%) received ART. The number of multidrug resistant (MDR)-TB cases enrolled for treatment increased almost 3-fold (578 to 1,532) from 2011-2014. The rate of HIV co-infection in MDR and non-MDR TB cases (51/1,532; 3.3% vs 3,774/100,555; 3.8%; OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.7–1.2) was similar in 2014.ConclusionsThe care of TB/HIV co-infected patients have shown sustained improvement in Vietnam. Rising numbers of MDR-TB cases is a concern, but this is not “driven” by HIV co-infection.