Epidemiology of TB and HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean Module 1 – March 2010

Project Partners Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

Module Overview  Global epidemiology TB, HIV, and TB/HIV  Regional epidemiology TB, HIV, and TB/HIV  Summary

Learning Objectives Objectives: At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:  Describe the current epidemiology of TB globally and in the Caribbean Region  Describe the current epidemiology of HIV and AIDS globally and in the Caribbean Region

A Global View Tuberculosis continues to be an important global public health problem, intensified by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic.

WHO Global TB Report, 2009  9.4 million new cases of TB in 2008  Of these new cases, 1.4 million (15%) were HIV-positive  1.8 million people died from TB in 2008, including 500,000 people with HIV; 4500 deaths per day  TB is a leading killer of people infected with HIV

WHO Global TB Report, 2009 (2)  TB prevalence and mortality rates are falling globally  However, multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis is compounding the TB problem world wide  Estimate 0.5 million MDR-TB cases world- wide  Mortality rate of MDR- and XDR-TB is comparable to those of TB before the era of TB antibiotics

Estimated Numbers of New Cases, 2007

Estimated TB Incidence Rate, 2007

Tuberculosis  About one-third of the world population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis  1 in 10 people infected will become sick with active TB disease in their life time  Conditions that weaken the human immune system, such as HIV, make people much more vulnerable to TB

Global HIV  WHO 2009: “The number of people living with HIV worldwide continued to grow in 2008, reaching an estimated 33.4 million...this reflects the combined effects of continued high rates of new HIV infections and the beneficial impact of antiretroviral therapy.”

Global HIV (2)  People living with HIV 33.4 million [31.1 – 35.8 million]  New HIV infections in million [2.4 – 3.0 million]  Deaths due to AIDS in million [1.7 – 2.4 million]

HIV Testing for TB Patients, 2007

HIV/AIDS and TB  The terms “co-epidemic” or “dual epidemic” is often used to describe their relationship  HIV affects the immune system and increases the likelihood of people acquiring new TB infection  It also promotes both the progression of latent TB infection to active disease and relapse of the disease in previously treated patients

HIV/AIDS and TB (2)  At least one-third of the 33.4 million people living with HIV worldwide are infected with TB and are times more likely to develop TB than those without HIV  If not treated appropriately, 90% of those living with HIV die within months of contracting TB  The majority of people who are co-infected with both diseases live in sub-Saharan Africa

WHO Region Country Geographical Distribution of HIV-positive TB Cases, 2007

GUYANA SURINAME BELIZE GRENADA ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES BAHAMAS JAMAICA TRINIDAD & TOBAGO BARBADOS SAINT LUCIA DOMINICA ST. KITTS & NEVIS ANTIGUA BARBUDA GUYANA SURINAME HAITI CHART RCU Office CAREC Office

CAREC Member Countries  The CAREC member countries (CMCs) have experienced a resurgence of TB  During the first half of the 1980s, there was a progressive decline in the number of TB cases in CMCs, followed by a leveling off in 1988 to 1989  Since that time, there has been a gradual but distinctly notable increase in TB in some member countries

Reported New and Relapse TB Cases for Select CMCs,

Regional HIV and AIDS statistics, 2008 and 2001

Regional HIV and AIDS statistics, 2008 and 2001 (2)

HIV Prevalence (%) in Adults ( ) in the Caribbean, 2007

HIV Vulnerable Populations  Youth: Forced sexual debut affecting 20% of young people  Women: Poor gender relations and gender based violence in and out of home (child abuse, coercion, rape of young women)

HIV Vulnerable Populations (2)  In 2007, HIV prevalence in the Bahamas, Barbados, and Jamaica in young males age 15–24 years was twice as high as for females  The reverse was true in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago, where HIV prevalence in young females 15–24 years of age was twice as high as their male cohort in 2007

HIV Vulnerable Populations (3)  Migrant Workers (Legal and Illegal): motivated the desire for socio-economic improvement Illegal status — isolation, exclusion, limiting access to health services  Men who have sex with men (MSM): Homophobia is rampant and homo- sexuality illegal in basically all countries of the Caribbean Prevalence of MSM is 11% of HIV cases overall

HIV Vulnerable Populations (4)  Commercial sex workers/Transactional sex: Unprotected sex between sex workers and clients A PAHO/CAREC study documented sex worker HIV prevalence rate of 11% in Guyana (2000) and 24.1% in Suriname (2004)

Caribbean: HIV/AIDS and TB  2,135 new TB cases (all forms) were reported in CMCs in % (1,066) were tested for HIV 27% (291) were HIV-positive doubling the regional average for the Americas  Compared with data from the period 1997 to 2002, the proportion of TB patients tested for HIV has declined from 59 to 50% and the seroprevalence rate has been kept constant

Caribbean: HIV/AIDS and TB (2)  In 2007, 28% of co-infected patients received cotrimoxazole (CPT) and 39% anti-retroviral therapy (ART)  Between 2006 – 2007, the percentage of co-infected patients: declined in the Bahamas (54% to 30%) and Jamaica (31% to 22%) greatly increased in Guyana (13% to 28%) and Trinidad & Tobago (5% to 30%)

Caribbean: HIV/AIDS and TB (3)  HIV is driving the TB epidemic in the Region  Co-infection rates range 10%-40%  TB and HIV collaboration is needed to control and prevent both diseases

TB & HIV Co-infection in Select CMCs:

TB/HIV Co-infection: Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago,

Summary  The incidence of TB, HIV and TB/HIV varies within the region  Additional efforts to improve surveillance of both diseases is needed to more accurately describe the merging epidemics in the region  Lessons learned globally for addressing the co-epidemic can and must be applied regionally and at the country level