1.  Globally, an estimated 35 million children and adults are infected with HIV.  The cumulative number of HIV/AIDS deaths has been estimated at 19 million. The cumulative number of AIDS cases nationwide is 753, 907, with a case fatality rate of 58%.  The reported national AIDS cases in 2000 alone was 88,550.^[1]  The cumulative number of AIDS cases in California, as of December 31, 2000, was determined to be 119, 900; 2,839 cases were newly diagnosed in 2000.  A sum of 3,295 cases of TB were reported for the same period in California.^[2]   

2.  Tuberculosis continues to be a public health threat.  In 2000, 16,372 cases of TB were reported in the United States.  This represents a 6.6% decrease from 1999 (17,531 cases).  HIV positive persons are ten times more likely to develop TB if they are infected with the mycobacterium tuberculosis organism than their HIV negative counterparts.  In Los Angeles County, TB continues to be a problem particularly in the  foreign-born, homeless and persons co-infected with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), despite the decline in the overall TB cases reported over the past eight years.

3.  In 2000, 1,065 cases of TB were reported in Los Angeles County.  This represents a 9% decrease from 1999  (1,170 cases).  Of these 1,065 cases, 63.8% were tested for HIV and 77(7.2%) were HIV co-infected, representing a small decrease in the proportion of HIV co-infected cases since 1999  (9.0%).  HIV co-infected TB cases were reported from 12 different countries in 2000.  Los Angeles County comprises 35.3% of all AIDS cases in California and 5.6% of the national AIDS cases.  

4.   Of these 77 co-infected patients, 67 were male and 10 were female.

5.   In 2000, there was a total of 16 homeless cases that were co-infected with HIV. 

6.  The racial breakdown among the HIV co-infected TB cases in Los Angeles County was 62.3% Hispanic, 29.9% African American, 6.5% White, and 1.3% Asian. 

7.  In 2000, 25 (32.5%) of the HIV co-infected cases were 35-44 years old.  The next highest number of HIV co-infected TB cases (21, 27.3%) were among the 15-34 age group.   

8.  Sixty-two percent (48 cases) of the co-infected TB cases were foreign-born.  The country with the highest number of HIV co-infected patients in LAC was Mexico with 32 cases, followed by El-Salvador with 5 and Guatemala with 3.  The US born HIV co-infected total was 27. 

9. Twenty-one percent (16) of HIV co-infected cases were homeless.  

10.  Eighty-four percent (65) of the HIV co-infected cases were diagnosed on the basis of positive bacteriology.  Of these people, 43 (72.3%) were smear positive.  

11.  The Los Angeles County TB Control Program recommends that all HIV co-infected TB cases be placed on Directly Observed Therapy (DOT).  In 2000, fifty-nine (76.6%) of the HIV co-infected cases were receiving directly observed therapy (DOT) upon initiation of treatment.

(Page reformatted on June 18, 2002)  
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