The majority of San Diego’s tuberculosis (TB) and HIV coinfections cases occur in the Latino community, according to a study that will be published in the American Journal of Public Health. Latinos account for more than 80 percent of San Diego’s TB/HIV coinfection cases.

“While the overall numbers are modest, our study shows that what used to be mostly a disease of white and black patients in San Diego is now largely a disease of Hispanics,” said Timothy Rodwell, MD, PhD, associate physician/fellow in the Division of Global Public Health at the University of California at San Diego.

The university researchers analyzed 5,172 TB cases from 1993 to 2007 in San Diego County’s TB surveillance data. They found that 8.8 percent, or 455, were also HIV positive. While the coinfection cases did not change during the period, the proportion of cases among Latinos increased significantly. In addition, cases among white and black patients decreased.

“This indicates that the benefits of prevention and treatment of TB and HIV over the last decade have been uneven in the different ethnic/racial groups in this region,” said Rodwell.