HIV and tuberculosis co-infection in East Asia and the Pacific from 1990 to 2017: results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background: Periodic surveillance is crucial to provide information for resource allocation to control HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and their co-infection, especially in areas with high morbidity and mortality like East Asia and the Pacific. Therefore, we examined the morbidity and mortality of HIV/AIDS and TB co-infection in this region from 1990 to 2017. Methods: Utilizing the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2017, we obtained incidence, prevalence, and mortality numbers and rates of HIV/AIDS and TB co-infection, including HIV and drug-susceptible TB (DS-TB), multidrug-resistant TB without extensive drug resistance (MDR-TB without XDR), and extensive drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). The trends in incidence, prevalence, and mortality from 1990 to 2017 for each co-infection type were analyzed using join-point regression modelling. Results: In 2017, there were 238,372, 4,294, and 392 new cases of HIV-infected DS-TB, HIV-infected MDR-TB without XDR, and HIV-infected XDR-TB, respectively. The number of prevalent cases and deaths were 383,809 and 12,197 of HIV-infected DS-TB, 7,811 and 1,168 of HIV-infected MDR-TB without XDR, and 713 and 282 of HIV-infected XDR-TB. From 1990 to 2017, the age-standardized incidence rate and prevalence rate of HIV-infected DS-TB, and the prevalence rate of HIV-infected XDR-TB continuously increased; the incidence rate of HIV-infected XDR-TB increased from 1990 to 2005 before stabilizing. However, the incidence and prevalence rates of HIV-infected MDR-TB without XDR-as well as the mortality rates of all co-infection types-have decreased in the last 5 years. Conclusions: Even though the mortality rates of all HIV and TB co-infection types have decreased recently, the overall trends in both incidence and prevalence rates of HIV-infected DS-TB and XDR-TB have been increasing since 1990. Efforts to control co-infection across drug resistance types should be continued and further strengthened.