AIDS in Latin America

The HIV-AIDS epidemic in Latin America has produced an unexpected additional burden to health care systems and national economies already weak and affected by severe problems. Specific regional diseases, such as Chagas' disease, leishmaniasis, and histoplasmosis, in addition to common opportunistic infections, and particularly the high incidence of tuberculosis, produce a slightly different epidemiologic picture compared with the United States and Europe. Access to antiretrovirals is not universal in Latin America. Nevertheless, some countries are providing highly active antiretroviral therapy to all eligible patients, showing that it is not impossible to improve the quality of care for people living with AIDS in the region. Drug interactions between antiretrovirals and specific treatments for regional diseases generate additional concerns for the already complex picture of the HIV-AIDS epidemic in the region.