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Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz
ISSN: 1678-8060
EISSN: 1678-8060
Vol. 95, No. s1, 2000, pp. 145-151
Bioline Code: oc00172
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge

Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Vol. 95, No. s1, 2000, pp. 145-151

 en Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome and Tropical Diseases: a Brazilian Perspective
Mariza G Morgado; Christovam Barcellos; Maria de Fátima Pina & Francisco Inácio Bastos

Abstract

The paper summarizes recent findings on the epidemiology and pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/Aids), highlighting the role of co-infections with major tropical diseases. Such co-infections have been studied in the Brazilian context since the beginning of the Aids epidemic and are expected to be more frequent and relevant as the Aids epidemic in Brazil proceeds towards smaller municipalities and the countryside, where tropical diseases are endemic. Unlike opportunistic diseases that affect basically the immunocompromised host, most tropical diseases, as well as tuberculosis, are pathogenic on their own, and can affect subjects with mild or no immunossuppression. In the era of highly active anti-retroviral therapies (HAART), opportunistic diseases seem to be on decrease in Brazil, where such medicines are fully available. Benefiting from HAART in terms of restoration of the immune function, putative milder clinical courses are expected in the future for most co-infections, including tropical diseases. On the other hand, from an ecological perspective, the progressive geographic diffusion of Aids makes tropical diseases and tuberculosis a renewed challenge for Brazilian researchers and practitioners dealing with HIV/Aids in the coming years.

Keywords
human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-HIV/Aids, co-infections, Brazil

 
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