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Global TB crisis fuelled by AIDS - UN

A global tuberculosis (TB) crisis fuelled by HIV/AIDS could see one billion people infected over the next 20 years, the World Health Organisation has warned.

At a two-day conference currently underway in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the UN health agency estimated that some 35 million people could die of TB during that time if the growth of the disease continued unchecked.

Research shows that TB is the most common opportunistic infection among people living with HIV/AIDS - at least 8.7 million people are infected, and the disease claims 2 million lives each year.

Delegates at the conference, held to promote the joint treatment of the world's two leading killer diseases, called for urgent action against the co-epidemic.


This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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