TB/HIV Co-infected Patient Stories

There is no doubt that recent global attention to HIV prevention and HIV/AIDS care has fuelled an increase in public debate and discussion on the need to invest more in health. As we increase our work to stem the HIV epidemic, we must build a comprehensive approach that takes into consideration the overall disease burden of poor countries, in particular the problems of tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.

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• Jonathan has been at the hospital for eight months now and hopes to go home in a couple of weeks. He has multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). He lives in Khayelitsha Township. Once out of hospital, he must continue treatment for several more months, visiting his local doctor. He has no idea how he got TB. He became very sick and weak before being admitted to the Brooklyn Chest Hospital, which cares for TB, as well as HIV/AIDS patients of all ages. As he felt bet-ter, it has been increasingly difficult for him to stay at the hospital. Apart from the television and games, there is not a lot to do. His girl-friend lives far away and visits only at weekends. He was unem-ployed before coming to hospital and his first priority when he leaves is to find a job. As what, he doesn’t know. Just something to keep him occupied that gives him some money, he says. He is currently in the Brooklyn Chest Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa
  (Newsletter Issue, No.6 - Spring, 2002 - Photo available on page 10).

• Connie from Botswana: When she was 14 years old, Connie went to live with her aunt in South Africa. She was raped several times by a friend of her aunt’s. Each time she tried to leave, he beat and abused her. After finally escaping, Connie returned home to her family in Botswana. Two months ago, she was diagnosed with TB. Knowing of the link between HIV and TB, Connie’s father took her to be tested. She tested positive for HIV. She believes she contracted her HIV from her aunt’s friend, as two other women he had raped had died from AIDS-related diseases. Her family have been very supportive. Connie has suffered greatly with the stigma of both TB and HIV. Because she has TB, people automatically accuse her of being HIV+, without even knowing her status. In her family, only her younger brother treats her badly, accusing her of infecting the house-hold. He also accuses her of bringing shame on the family. She has separate eating utensils, bed linen, bath towels, etc. Connie is unemployed. She does odd jobs when she can find them. She comes to the hospice 3 times a week for some calm and to escape from her home situation. All she hopes for at the moment is just to get better and back to full strength. Then she will think about the future. Connie is 19 years old. She is HIV+ and has TB. She has been taking her TB treatment for about 2 months and feels much better. She receives meals at the dispensary.
  (Newsletter Issue, No.5 - December, 2001 - Photo available on page 12)

• Sipho shuffles past the clinic at Daliwonga,knowing there's nothing the medical staff inside can do for him.He has been HIV-positive for four years and he's suffering from advanced TB,the biggest killer of HIV-positive people in Africa.Often he cannot afford the US$1 bus fare to Umtata where he is being treated."I'm not optimistic,I'm very weak now,sometimes I have to decide whether to eat or travel for my medicine ", he spluttered.

  Health care workers attached to Daliwonga clinic told IRIN that in the scattered community of Amambisi that the medical facility serves,hundreds are dying alone and unseen. "Where there is no breadwinner or income we see people passing away quickly because of AIDS.Often they have treatable conditions,people want to help them but often they have nothing to give,"one worker said.
  (Newsletter Issue, No.4 - Summer, 2001 - Photo available on page 12).

• Georgina Ahamefule: I am 41 years old.I was diagnozed with HIV infection in 1995.Last year in October,I contracted tuberculosis and have since been taking medication for it.Today,I stand before you all looking healthy but this has come and continues to come at a great 'cost'—cost to my family,cost to my social and civil life and cost to my economic life.I am a voice representing thousands of TB sufferers in this country and our dear continent of Africa.Many of us are PWAs.If today we cannot get drugs to cure us of AIDS,at least,you our leaders can secure for us anti-TB drugs that are available,effective,cheaper and can definitely help to prolong our lives.

  Mrs Georgina Ahamefule was one of the people living with HIV/AIDS that were presented at the opening of the African Summit on HIV/AIDS,Tuberculosis and Other Related Infectious Diseases that opened in Abuja,Nigeria.Georgina faces a double jeopardy. An auxiliary nurse,Georgina was dismissed from work by her boss when he tested her without her consent and found out she was HIV-positive.
  (Newsletter Issue, No.4 - Summer, 2001 - Photo available on page 12).

• Philip from London: Philip is 31 years old. He was diagnosed HIV-positive when he was 20 years old. He has AIDS and MDR-TB. Philip has no idea where he might have caught his TB from. Philip is in a negative pressure isolation room away from all other patients. Anyone visiting must wear a mask. Because Philip has AIDS, he is no stranger to the hospital or the isolation room.He was admitted two weeks ago after becoming so ill one weekend that he couldn ’t walk. His partner had to call for an ambulance. He was later diagnosed as having MDR-TB and started therapy immediately. When he was admitted he was very thin and not eating well. Philip is fed at night via a gastrostomy tube. Although he eats the hospital food and what his friends bring him, he has little appetite at the moment. Philip is a hairdresser but was sacked about a month ago for missing work because of a hospital visit.
  (Newsletter Issue, No.3 - March, 2001 - Photo available on page 8 & 9)

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