HomeCanada’s national HIV/AIDS and TB surveillance systems have limitations regarding their ability to estimate TB-HIV co-infection. However, data collection on the HIV status of individuals reported with active TB disease has greatly improved over the years, along with the percentage of individuals who are offered HIV testing. In 2001, HIV status was unknown for 83.4% of individuals diagnosed with TB disease; by 2017, that figure had decreased to 30.9%, but in 2020, it had increased again, to 57.3% (Figure 8).
The percentage of HIV-positive individuals among those diagnosed with active TB disease whose HIV status was known decreased over time, from 15.1% in 2001-2004 (when only 1,239 of 6,682, or 18.5% of individuals with active TB disease reported their HIV-status), to 3.5% in 2017-2020 (when 4,419 of 7,314, or 60.4% of individuals with active TB disease reported their HIV-status) (Figure 9). It should be noted that underreporting of HIV status imposes serious limitations in national level interpretation of changes in the incidence of TB-HIV co-infection.
Switch To: Français