The majority of the children seen in the pediatric ward at Tambaram Hospital are being treated for either HIV, Tuberculosis, or both.

TB - Tuberculosis kills more people in India and throughout southeast Asia than any other infectious disease - more than HIV, STD, malaria, and tropical diseases combined. In India, more than 1,000 people die from TB every day - more than 450,000 per year, 1 every minute. Tuberculosis is curable.

HIV - The HIV epidemic in India is growing rapidly. According to one recent Gates Foundation-supported study, the number of HIV-positive people in the country rose from 3.97 million in 2001 to 4.58 million by the end of 2002. While there is no cure for HIV, Tambaram is one of a handful of sites where the govenment of India is piloting free access to antiretroviral HIV medications.

TB and HIV - Because TB can remain dormant in the body until the immune system is weakened, TB and HIV are related epidemics, with TB spreading rapidly among HIV-positive people whose immune systems are compromised. People with HIV are ten times more likely to develop active TB than HIV-negative people.

To learn more about HIV, TB, and India, browse the following links.

Articles on TB and HIV at TheBody.com

The Government of India National TB Control Program

The Indian National AIDS Control Organization (NACO)