Notification of tuberculosis in patients with AIDS.

BACKGROUND

In the early 1990s cases of tuberculosis in people with HIV infection and AIDS were undernotified. A study to evaluate changes in notification rates in two inner London local authorities was undertaken for the period January 1993-June 1996 inclusive.

METHODS

For residents of the two local authorities, tuberculosis notifications were identified using a local database, and cases of AIDS with a recorded diagnosis of tuberculosis were identified from AIDS case reports.

RESULTS

During the study period, only 13 (32 per cent) of the 41 AIDS cases with a recorded diagnosis of tuberculosis were also notified as a case of tuberculosis. However, the proportion of notified cases rose from 0 per cent (0 of 11) in 1993 to 50 per cent (5 of 10) in 1995 and 63 per cent (5 of 8) in early 1996.

CONCLUSION

The increase in the tuberculosis notification rate for people with AIDS is encouraging, but scope for improvement remains.