HIV infected patients may respond with sputum culture conversion as well or better than patients without HIV infection.  Nevertheless, the large number of bacilli such patients are harboring may not be evident from sputum counts alone.  The therapeutic problem in such patients is thus less one of treatment failure than of relapse.

The currently preferred regimen in low income countries for both patients with and without HIV infection consists of eight months isoniazid plus ethambutol, supplemented by rifampicin plus pyrazinamide during the first two months.

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