According to AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), the most commonly reported bacterial infection in people with AIDS, may soon surpass Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) as the No. 1 opportunistic infection affecting immune-suppressed people.

In a published article in the February 1994 issue of Positive Living, APLA’s newsletter, Peter George, a treatment advocate in APLA’s treatment education program, explains further.

“Because treatment and prevention of many opportunistic infections is improving, people with HIV theoretically have an increased risk for MAC infection. The actual incidence of MAC is certain to be considerably higher than the incidence of PCP as autopsy data have demonstrated that MAC may be present in up to 50 percent of people with AIDS.”