Risk factors for negative sputum acid-fast bacilli smears in pulmonary tuberculosis: results from Dakar, Senegal, a city with low HIV seroprevalence.

Abstract

Compared with HIV-seronegative patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, seropositive patients in Dakar, Senegal, are more likely to have negative sputum-AFB smears. This phenomenon has now been observed in seven of eight sub-Saharan African countries with varying HIV seroprevalence from which reports are available.