TB/HIV Research Priorities in Resource-Limited Settings: Report of an Expert Consultation

Abstract

This report is an outline of the Expert Consultation on TB/HIV Research Priorities in Resource-limited Setting on 14-16 February 2005 in Geneva, Switzerland. Three discussion groups identified research priorities for five major areas: (1) preventive therapy for TB were identified with a distinction between the population and the individual levels; (2) co-trimoxazole prophylaxis including the role of co-trimoxazole in the context of antiretroviral therapy, delivery strategies, and determining the efficacy of and optimal time for initiating co-trimoxazole prophylaxis among people living with HIV/AIDS and TB; (3) antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV/AIDS who have TB or who develop TB is validating the optimal time for initiating antiretroviral therapy; (4) intensified case-finding focus on ways to put this TB/HIV collaborative activity into operation to improve TB control; and (5) the development of new tools and diagnostic algorithms to improve the diagnosis of smear-negative TB in adults and children.