Publications

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world’s most common cause of death in the era of human immunodeficiency virus(HIV). TB and HIV are called a “deadly duo” as HIV weakens the immune system and makes them more susceptiblefor TB infection. Uganda is ranked 20th among 22 countries with a high burden of TB. 54% of TB patients are HIVco-infected and about 30% of the HIV related deaths are attributed to TB. TB mortality remains high in Uganda,with about 4,000 people dying of the disease every year, an equivalent of the population in a parish setting. To findout the prevalence of tuberculosis among HIV infected patients reporting to Kampala International UniversityTeaching Hospital. This was a cross sectional study conducted among HIV infected patients within Ishaka and thesurrounding villages. The study randomly recruited 76 patients who filled in the questionnaires administered todetermine the prevalence and methods of infection control among HIV /TB infected patients. The prevalence of TBamong HIV infected patients was still high at 10.5% despite patients having known the status. Analysis of the sociodemographicfactors showed that TB incidence was distributed throughout all ages provided one was HIV positivealthough onset was highest in early adulthood (26-30 years) and had a death rate of 9.1%. Administrative, personalcontrol measures and DOT centres were the modal of control in management and control of tuberculosis at KIUTH.Personal protections and environmental control of infections were affected by administrative decisions and thuspoorly implemented. Despite the reduction in the mortality of tuberculosis among HIV infected persons, there is alot of room for improvement especially in control of infections. To plan for and implement the administrative controlof TB Infection control (TIC) among HIV infected clients and also come up with a follow up network for improvedpatients who are referred to the village DOT centres because of distance and other reasons. Mass education of thecommunity about the factors associated with the high prevalence of TB.