Doctors should look for fungal infections when treating TB, researchers have warned.
A study by Manchester University has found high rates among patients.
Professor David Denning and colleagues at the Gulu Referral Hospital, Uganda, carried out a study on 398 people in Uganda with treated pulmonary tuberculosis. They report that about one in 15 people were likely get the fungal infection chronic pulmonary aspergillosis.
This means that about 140,000 people worldwide will develop the condition each year after finishing tuberculosis treatment.
They hope this finding will aid in the diagnosis of aspergillosis, which is treatable with medication.
Professor Denning would like to improve tuberculosis programs with this work.
He said: “These results have global implications for tuberculosis programs – simple antibody testing and chest X-rays can diagnose chronic fungal infection after tuberculosis.
“The risk of aspergillosis is 30-fold higher in those with a cavity after tuberculosis, and these patients need to be actively followed up and treated if they develop this fungal complication.”
In the European Respiratory Journal on Monday (18 March), the team add that they identified cases of aspergillosis in patients with and without HIV.
First author, Dr Iain Page, states: “I am immensely proud that the doctors and patients in Uganda have led the world in defining this important fungal complication of tuberculosis. In other studies, over 75% of those with aspergillosis have died within five years and we fear this is currently the case in many countries.”
Page, I. D. et al. Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis commonly complicates treated pulmonary tuberculosis with residual cavitation. European Respiratory Journal 18 March 2019 doi: 10.1183/13993003.01184-2018
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