Transmission trends for human immunodeficiency virus associated tuberculosis in New York City.
METHODS
Since 1992, tuberculosis (TB) control measures have reduced incidence rates in New York City and elsewhere. Nevertheless, trends have not been uniform in all demographic groups.


OBJECTIVE
To characterize the epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) associated TB in New York during the 1990s, we analyzed social, demographic and clinical characteristics and genetic data on Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates among persons with known HIV-status.


METHODS
A retrospective case-control study to compare patients with HIV-associated TB and patients with TB alone.


RESULTS
Of 546 patients (70.5%) in the Department of Health Tuberculosis Control Registry treated for TB, 385 also had documented HIV status; 198 were HIV-infected (51%) and 187 (49%) were not. Genotype analysis of the 385 M. tuberculosis isolates identified 200 (52%) clustered strains, representing recent transmission. Although the overall percentage of TB cases associated with restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) clustering fell over the period studied, HIV-associated cases were still much more likely to be associated with clustering than non-HIV-associated cases.


CONCLUSIONS
Continued attention is required to contain the spread of TB in this vulnerable population.
Geng
E H
EH
Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032, USA. elvingeng@yahoo.com
Kreiswirth
B N
BN
Burzynski
J
J
Schluger
N W
NW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission*