From an estimated 85,200 HIV-infected individuals in Mumbai in 1997, at least 4120 excess deaths attributed to AIDS occurred among 15-54-year-olds. To prevent repetition of this excess in other parts of India, priority intervention programmes should be instituted quickly because the window of opportunity is closing quickly.
PIP: Evidence for AIDS-related mortality in Mumbai, India, is presented in this article. Data from the death registry of the Public Health Department were used to analyze deaths that occurred between 1987 and 1997. The observed number of deaths was substantially greater than the expected number of deaths beginning with 1990. From an estimated 85,200 HIV-infected individuals in 1997, at least 4120 excess deaths attributed to AIDS occurred among 15-54 year olds. The increasing mortality over the years is significant and observed in both sexes. Among men and women aged 25-44 years the excess number of deaths was largely due to tuberculosis and other causes including AIDS. During the 11-year period, the rates of tuberculosis-related death increased by 70-140%. Recognizing the fact that tuberculosis is the most common opportunistic infection among AIDS patients in developed countries, a significant proportion of tuberculosis-related deaths could also be AIDS-associated.