Background TB and HIV co-infection is considered to occur worldwide. Immunosuppression by HIV makes patients vulnerable to be infected with TB and they are more prone to get severe disease. Prevalence of TB and HIV in Sri Lanka is 4.2% and < 0.1% respectively. Relationship between HIV and TB is not yet clearly defined in Sri Lanka. The objective of this preliminary study is to describe the epidemiology of HIV – TB co-infection in Sri Lanka.

Methods 54 sexually active patients with histopathologically or microbiologically proven Tuberculosis were screened for HIV with ELISA antibody test. Positive ELISA was confirmed by western blot test.

Results Patients were 17 to 54 years of age. Male: Female = 33:21. 38 and 16 patients had pulmonary and extra pulmonary TB respectively. Only 02 male patients had positive ELISA test for HIV but both were negative for western blot test.

Conclusion HIV – TB co-infection is not a significant occurrence in Sri Lanka yet. There for HIV should not be considered as an important predisposing factor for TB in Sri Lanka and It is not rational to screen all TB patients for HIV as it is not cost effective for a resource poor country.

Disclosure of interest Nothing to disclose.