Notifications are collected at the Statens Serum Institut All pa

Notifications are collected at the Statens Serum Institut. All patients with TB in Denmark are treated in hospitals specialized in the treatment of TB. It was therefore possible to obtain information about all known TB cases

in Denmark during 2007–2009. Data were not available to allow us to examine the reasons for choosing to perform or not perform an HIV test. However, the existing data suggest that testing for HIV infection was carried out in patients selected by age and to some extent by perceived risk of HIV infection. This seems to be a universal practice among health care personnel [4]. The number of patients found to be HIV infected was nearly the same in each of these three years, although the proportion and

number of patients who were tested Erlotinib chemical structure for HIV infection increased significantly. A recent European Union survey found Selleckchem Ceritinib that between 5 and 90% of patients newly diagnosed with TB were tested for HIV [5]. The significant increase in HIV testing among new TB cases might partly be a result of increased awareness among relevant health care personnel as a consequence of our survey. The incidence of TB in Denmark is now 7/100 000/year, but variable within population subgroups. The prevalence of HIV infection is estimated to be 7/10 000 [6]. It is likely that the frequency of HIV infection was higher among the TB patients who were tested than it would have been in those who were not tested. We cannot expect to test all patients with TB for HIV, because by law the test can only be carried out after informed consent has been obtained from the patient. A few patients will refuse an offer of a test for HIV infection, and in some cases the diagnosis of TB is only forthcoming days or weeks after the patient’s death. The frequency of HIV infection in TB patients in Denmark Depsipeptide mouse in 2007–2009 was estimated to be around 3%, which is approximately

40 times higher than the estimated prevalence of HIV infection in the general population in Denmark. It therefore seems prudent to adhere to the policy recommended by The National Board of Health of offering HIV testing to all patients newly diagnosed with TB [2]. HIV testing of TB patients in Denmark increased during the study period, from 43% in 2007 to 63% in 2009. The average estimated HIV prevalence among TB patients in Denmark is 3%, which is approximately 40 times higher than the estimated background HIV prevalence in the Danish population. Therefore, the current national strategy with continued focus on HIV testing of the susceptible group of TB patients is duly supported by our findings.

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