[AIDS and mycobacterial infection].

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was first noticed in 1981 by Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Since then, the number of patients has continued to increase and reached 151,790 by the end of April 1989. AIDS is caused by the infection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which infects CD4+ cells including helper-inducer T-cells. The infection with HIV thus induces severe impairment of the immune mechanism, especially of cellular immunity, of the infected host, and, as a result, various types of opportunistic infections and special types of tumors could occur. Infections with mycobacteria may, of course, complicate to the AIDS patients as one of such infections. In this articles I tried to summarize the literatures on mycobacterial infections in AIDS patients and on the influences of AIDS on the tuberculosis programme. Such knowledge, will be indispensable for the specialists in tuberculosis and pulmonary diseases in near future.