Combined HIV and TB efforts could save many

The lives of 500,000 HIV-positive people in Africa could be prolonged each year if they were also treated for tuberculosis (TB), two UN agencies announced on Tuesday.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNAIDS said at a meeting this week in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, that about eight million of the estimated 25 million Africans living with HIV/AIDS also carried the bacillus that cause TB.

"If we jointly tackle TB and HIV, we can be much more effective in controlling both diseases," said UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot in a joint statement issued with WHO.

Although TB features prominently on the continent's list of AIDS-related illnesses, few people are receiving the care they need to treat the infection.