When HIV-negative children take isoniazid after they have been exposed to tuberculosis, their risk to contract tuberculosis is reduced. A Cochrane review investigated whether giving isoniazid to HIV-positive children can help to prevent this vulnerable group from getting tuberculosis. They included three trials conducted in South Africa and Botswana and found that isoniazid given to all children diagnosed with HIV may reduce the risk of active tuberculosis and death in children who are not on antiretroviral treatment. For children taking antiretroviral medication, no clear benefit was detected.

It is currently recommended that HIV-infected individuals with TB receive combined treatment for both diseases, irrespective of CD4+ cell count. ART (Anti Retroviral Therapy) along with ATT (Anti Tuberculosis Treatment) is the only available treatment in present time. Though the timing of starting ART is the debatable question due to the risk of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). The advantages of early ART include reduction in early mortality, reduction in relapses, preventing drug resistance to ATT and reduction in occurrence of HIV-associated infections other than TB. The disadvantages include cumulative toxicity of ART and ATT, drug interactions leading to inflammatory reactions are the limiting factors for choosing the combination of ATT and ART.

A systematic review investigated the optimal timing of starting antiretroviral therapy in adults with newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis. The review authors included eight trials, that were generally well-conducted, with over 4500 patients in total. The early provision of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected adults with newly diagnosed tuberculosis improved survival in patients who had a low CD4 count (less than 0.050 x 109 cells/L). However, such therapy doubled the risk for IRIS. Regarding patients with higher CD4 counts (more than 0.050 x 109 cells/L), the evidence is not sufficient to make a conclusion about benefits or risks of early antiretroviral therapy.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued recommendations regarding nutrient requirements in HIV/AIDS. A generally healthy diet is promoted. Dietary intake of micronutrients at RDA levels by HIV-infected adults is recommended by the WHO; higher intake of vitamin A, zinc, and iron can produce adverse effects in HIV positive adults, and is not recommended unless there is documented deficiency. Dietary supplementation for people who are infected with HIV and who have inadequate nutrition or dietary deficiencies may strengthen their immune systems or help them recover from infections, however evidence indicating an overall benefit in morbidity or reduction in mortality is not consistent.

Evidence for supplementation with selenium is mixed with some tentative evidence of benefit. For pregnant and lactating women with HIV, multivitamin supplement improves outcomes for both mothers and children. If the pregnant or lactating mother has been advised to take anti-retroviral medication to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, multivitamin supplements should not replace these treatments. There is some evidence that vitamin A supplementation in children with an HIV infection reduces mortality and improves growth.

Currently, there is no licensed vaccine for HIV or AIDS. The most effective vaccine trial to date, RV 144, was published in 2009 and found a partial reduction in the risk of transmission of roughly 30%, stimulating some hope in the research community of developing a truly effective vaccine. Further trials of the RV 144 vaccine are ongoing.

In 1994, Stephen Crohn became the first person discovered to be completely resistant to HIV in all tests performed. In early 2000, researchers discovered a small group of sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya who were estimated to have sexual contact with 60 to 70 HIV positive clients a year without signs of infection. Researchers from Public Health Agency of Canada have identified 15 proteins unique to those virus-free sex workers. Later, however some sex workers were discovered to have contracted the virus, leading Oxford University researcher Sarah Rowland-Jones to believe continual exposure is a requirement for maintaining immunity.

It is unknown what aspects of the natural immune response to HIV may protect someone from superinfection, but it has been shown that cytotoxic lymphocyte responses do not seem to be protective. In addition, it has been demonstrated that superinfection can occur in individuals that demonstrate a robust anti-HIV antibody response. The anti-HIV antibody response broadens and strengthens in individuals post-superinfection.

Taken with the finding that super-infection is common and occurs within and between HIV subtypes it has been suggested that the immune response elicited by primary infection may confer limited protection and raises concerns that HIV-vaccine strategies designed to replicate the natural anti-HIV immune response may have limited effectiveness in preventing new infections. However at the same time, HIV-infected individuals at high risk for super-infection who do not become superinfected may also provide a very interesting avenue for new vaccine research.

Exposure to antiretroviral treatments has led to the evolution of HIV in response to selection pressure that eliminates strains of HIV that do not express resistance mechanisms. Drug resistance occurs in all antiretroviral treatments if patients are non-adherent, meaning that they do not take their medication regimens as prescribed. Lack of adherence may result from unreliable access to the medication, due to prohibitive cost or inadequate supply.

Current medical and scientific opinion is mixed on the most effective treatment methods, but is focused on drug cocktails and the importance of first-line regimens . The World Health Organization advocates a public-health approach to HIV treatment in order to make treatment uniform and available to patients around the world. As of July 2017, the WHO is implementing the Global Action Plan on HIV drug resistance 2017-2021. It is a 5-year initiative intended to help countries around the world manage HIV drug resistance.

Among treatment methods, the World Health Organization acknowledges the importance of successful first-line treatments. First-line treatments are known to affect the virus’ future response to other treatments, making the effectiveness of first-line treatments an issue of vital importance. The most successful treatments are combinations of three drugs used simultaneously, as this greatly reduces the probability of the virus developing resistance.

Long-term nonprogressors (LTNPs), sometimes also called "elite controllers", are individuals infected with HIV, who maintain a CD4 count greater than 500 without antiretroviral therapy with a detectable viral load. Many of these patients have been HIV positive for 30 years without progressing to the point of needing to take medication in order not to develop AIDS. They have been the subject of a great deal of research, since an understanding of their ability to control HIV infection may lead to the development of immune therapies or a therapeutic vaccine. The classification "Long-term non-progressor" is not permanent, because some patients in this category have gone on to develop AIDS.

Long-term nonprogressors typically have viral loads under 10,000 copies RNA/ml blood, do not take antiretrovirals, and have CD4+ counts within the normal range. Most people with HIV not on medication have viral loads which are much higher.

It is estimated that around 1 in 300 people with HIV are long-term nonprogressors. Without the symptoms of AIDS, many LTNP patients may not know they are infected.

Genetic traits that confer greater resistance or more robust immune response to HIV are thought to explain why LTNP patients are able to live much longer with HIV than patients who are not LTNP. Some LTNP are infected with a weakened or inactive form of HIV, but it is now known that many LTNP patients carry a fully virulent form of the virus. Genetic traits that may affect progression include:

- Gene mutation. A mutation in the FUT2 gene affects the progression of HIV-1 infection. 20% of Europeans who have that mutation are called "non secretor" because of their absence of a certain type of antigen that also provides strong resistance against norovirus.

- Mitochondrial DNA. Different mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in humans may increase or decrease rates of AIDS progression. Haplotypes associated with more loosely coupled mitochondrial respiration, with reduced ATP and ROS generation, have been associated with faster progression and vice versa.

- Receptor mutations. A low percentage of long-term nonprogressors have been shown to have inherited mutations of the CCR5 receptor of T cell lymphocytes. HIV uses CCR5 to enter these cells. It is believed that the Δ32 (delta 32) variant of CCR5 impairs HIV ability to infect cells and cause disease. An understanding of this mechanism led to the development of a class of HIV medicines, the entry inhibitors. The presence of this mutation, however, is not a unifying theme among LTNPs and is observed in an exceedingly small number of these patients.

- HLA type has also been correlated with long-term non-progressor cohorts. In particular, strong correlations have been found between possessing the class 1 HLA-B*5701, HLA-B*5703, and/or HLA-B*2705 alleles and ability to exert control over HIV.

- Antibody production. All individuals with HIV make antibodies against the virus. In most patients, broadly neutralizing antibodies do not emerge until approximately 2–4 years after the initial infection. At this point, the latent reservoir has already been established and the presence of broadly neutralizing antibodies is not enough to prevent disease progression. In some rare patients, these antibodies emerge earlier and can result in a delayed disease course. These patients, however, are not typically classified as LTNPs, but rather as slow progressors, who will eventually develop AIDS. Induction of broadly neutralizing antibodies in healthy individuals is a potential strategy for a preventive HIV vaccine, as is the elicitation of these antibodies through rationally designed immunogens. Direct production of these antibodies in somatic tissue through plasmid transfection also pose a viable method for making these antibodies available in a large number of humans.

- APOBEC3G protein production. In a small number of people infected with HIV, the virus is naturally suppressed without medical treatment. These people may carry high quantities of a protein called APOBEC3G that disrupts viral replication in cells. APOBEC3G, or "A3" for short, is a protein that sabotages reverse transcription, the process HIV relies on for its replication. This process involves the virus transcribing its singe-stranded RNA genome into double-stranded DNA that is incorporated into the cell's genome. A3 usually stops dormant viruses in the human genome, called endogenous retroviruses, from reawakening and causing infections.

A study in the "New England Journal of Medicine" titled "Inhibition of HIV-1 Disease Progression by Contemporaneous HIV-2 Infection" revealed that people who are HIV-positive with the two major subtypes have a slower progression towards AIDS than people with only HIV-1 or HIV-2. This challenges the notion of superinfection by illustrating that contemporaneous infection can offset itself.

HIV develops resistance when it evades the effects of these treatments.

HIV drug resistance reduces the possible HIV medications a person can take due to cross resistance. In cross resistance, an entire medication class is considered ineffective in lowering a patient's HIV viral load because all the drugs in a given HIV class share the same mechanism of action. Therefore, development of resistance to one medication in a class precludes the use of all other medications in the same class. A blood test should be done to determine which drugs may be effective prior to initiation of treatment or during treatment to ensure resistance has not developed.

In 2004, one study estimated the percentage of the American HIV positive population with some form of drug resistance to be 76.3%. Certain intrinsic features of HIV facilitate its widespread resistance, most importantly its extremely high mutation rate.

In their 2017 HIV Drug Resistance Report, the World Health Organization conducted surveys in 14 countries to estimate the prevalence of resistance to HIV medications. One subgroup included only HIV-positive patients who have just initiated antiretroviral therapy in order to assess the prevalence of HIV drug resistance in treatment-naive patients, deemed "pretreatment drug resistance." Resistance to NNRTIs in this patient population ranged from 2.7% (in Myanmar) to 15.9% (in Uganda). Resistance to NRTIs ranged from 0.3% (in Namibia) to 6.8% (in Nicaragua). Resistance to protease inhibitors ranged from 0.3% (in Carmeroon and Myanmar) to 2.6% (in Mexico). Resistance to NNRTI + NRTI combination therapy ranged from 0.2% (in Myanmar) to 4.6% (in Uganda).

A small proportion of humans show partial or apparently complete inborn resistance to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The main mechanism is a mutation of the gene encoding CCR5, which acts as a co-receptor for HIV. It is estimated that the proportion of people with some form of resistance to HIV is under 1%.

Much of the deadliness of the epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa is caused by a deadly synergy between HIV and tuberculosis, termed a "co-epidemic". The two diseases have been "inextricably bound together" since the beginning of the HIV epidemic. "Tuberculosis and HIV co-infections are associated with special diagnostic and therapeutic challenges and constitute an immense burden on healthcare systems of heavily infected countries like Ethiopia." In many countries without adequate resources, the tuberculosis case rate has increased five to ten-fold since the identification of HIV. Without proper treatment, an estimated 90 percent of persons living with HIV die within months after contracting tuberculosis. The initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy in persons coinfected with tuberculosis can cause an immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome with a worsening, in some cases severe worsening, of tuberculosis infection and symptoms.

An estimated 874,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa were living with both HIV and tuberculosis in 2011, with 330,000 in South Africa, 83,000 in Mozambique, 50,000 in Nigeria, 47,000 in Kenya, and 46,000 in Zimbabwe. In terms of cases per 100,000 population, Swaziland's rate of 1,010 was by far the highest in 2011. In the following 20 African countries, the cases-per-100,000 coinfection rate has increased at least 20 percent between 2000 and 2011: Algeria, Angola, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Lesotho, Liberia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Togo, and Tunisia.

Since 2004, however, tuberculosis-related deaths among people living with HIV have fallen by 28 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is home to nearly 80 percent of the people worldwide who are living with both diseases.

The BCG vaccine prevents severe forms of TB in children, such as TB meningitis. It would be expected that BCG would have the same effect in preventing severe forms of TB in children, even if they were exposed to XDR-TB. The vaccine has shown to be less effective at preventing the most common strains of TB and in blocking TB in adults. The effect of BCG against XDR-TB would therefore likely be very limited. New vaccines are urgently needed, and WHO and members of the Stop TB Partnership are actively working on new vaccines.

The goal of antiretroviral use during pregnancy is to reduce the risk of transmission of HIV from mother to child. It is important to choose medications that are safe for the mother and the fetus and which are effective at decreasing the total viral load. Some studies have shown an increase in stillbirths, preterm delivery, and delayed fetal growth in women using high doses of antiretroviral drugs during pregnancy. However, the overall benefits of ART are believed to outweigh the risks and all women are encouraged to use ART for the duration of their pregnancy.

Due to physiological changes in the body during pregnancy, it may be necessary to alter the dosing of medications so that they remain effective. Generally, the dose or the frequency of dosing are increased to account for these changes.

The recommended ART regimen for HIV-positive pregnant women consists of drugs from 4 different classes of medications listed below. In the United States, the favored regimen is a three-drug regimen where the first two drugs are NRTIs and the third is either a protease inhibitor, an integrase inhibitor, or an NNRTI.

- Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are considered the "backbone" of ART and 2 medications are generally used in combination. Due to its known safety profile and extensive use in pregnant patients, zidovudine-lamivudine (ZDV/3TC) is the preferred choice as the NRTI backbone. Zidovudine may worsen anemia, so patients with anemia are advised to use an alternative agent. For women who are coinfected with Hepatitis B, tenofovir with either emtricitabine or lamivudine is the preferred NRTI backbone. NRTI use may cause lactic acidosis in some women, so it is important to monitor patients for this complication. Deaths from lactic acidosis and liver failure have been associated with the use of two NRTIs, stavudine and didanosine (Zerit and Videx, respectively); therefore, combinations involving these drugs should be avoided in pregnancy.

- Protease inhibitors (PIs) have been studied extensively in pregnancy and are therefore the preferred third drug in the regimen. Atazanavir-ritonavir and darunavir-ritonavir are two of the most common PIs used during pregnancy. There is conflicting data regarding their association with preterm births, so women who are at a high risk for premature delivery are advised not to use PIs. Some PIs have been associated with hyperglycemia but is unclear whether they add to the risk of developing gestational diabetes. Some PIs have been noted to cause hyperbilirubinemia and nausea, so these side effects should be monitored for closely.

- Integrase inhibitors (IIs) are generally the third drug in the regimen when a PI cannot be used. They rapidly reduce the viral load and for this reason, they are often used in women who are diagnosed with HIV late in the pregnancy. Raltegravir is the most common II used.

- Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), the most popular being efavirenz and nevirapine, may be used during pregnancy. However, there are significant toxicities associated with their use, making them a less desirable option.

- Efavirenz (brand name Sustiva, and a component of the combination drug Atripla) is classified as a category D drug by the US Food and Drug Administration indicating there are risks associated with its use during pregnancy. In a study analyzing the use of the drug in pregnant women, 2.3% of births were associated with birth defects. However, a systematic review of the safety of efavirenz use in humans during the first trimester found no increase in birth defects among women using the drug. Given the uncertain potential for risk the U.S. DHHS recommends against using efavirenz in the first trimester of pregnancy or in women who may become pregnant. They instead recommend a protease inhibitor based regimen with lopinavir or atazanavir. However, to simplify regimens and provide a uniform recommendation for HIV-infected individuals during pregnancy, the WHO continues to recommend efavirenz as a first line agent for HIV positive women. Women using efavirenz prior to their pregnancy may continue with the drug as it is more dangerous to stop or change medications during pregnancy because this can result in improper control of the viral load.

- Nevirapine (trade name Viramune) increases the risk of very serious liver damage in women with CD4 counts greater than 250 cells/mm . It is generally avoided in pregnant women. Women taking nevirapine safely prior to pregnancy may continue with the medication because nevirapine-related liver damage has not been seen in women previously using the medication.

According to current recommendations by the WHO, US CDC and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), all individuals with HIV should begin ART. The recommendation is stronger under the following conditions:

- CD4 count below 350 cells/mm

- High viral load (>100,000 copies/ml)

- Progression of HIV to AIDS

- Development of HIV-related infections and illnesses

- Pregnancy

Women are encouraged to begin treatment as soon as they are diagnosed with HIV. If they are diagnosed prior to pregnancy, they should continue with ART during the pregnancy. If the diagnosis of HIV is made during the pregnancy, ART should be initiated immediately.

AIDS-related complex, or ARC, was introduced after discovery of the HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) when the medical community became aware of the inherent difficulties associated with treating patients suffering from an advanced case of HIV which gave rise to the term Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The necessity for doctors to quickly and accurately understand the special needs of unknown patients suffering from AIDS in an emergency room situation was addressed with the creation of the term ARC.

ARC is "A prodromal phase of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Laboratory criteria separating AIDS-related complex ( ARC) from AIDS include elevated or hyperactive B-cell humoral immune responses, compared to depressed or normal antibody reactivity in AIDS; follicular or mixed hyperplasia in ARC lymph nodes, leading to lymphocyte degeneration and depletion more typical of AIDS; evolving succession of histopathological lesions such as localization of Kaposi's sarcoma, signaling the transition to the full-blown AIDS."

Clinical use of this term was widely discontinued by the year 2000 in the United States after having been replaced by modern laboratory criteria.

Many of these viruses are controlled through laboratory screening tests. These fall into three basic varieties: antibody tests, nucleic acid tests (NAT), and surrogate tests. Antibody tests look for the immune system's response to the infection. Nucleic acid tests look for the genetic material of the virus itself. The third variety are tests that are not specific to the disease but look for other related conditions.

High risk activities for transfusion transmitted infections vary, and the amount of caution used for screening donors varies based on how dangerous the disease is. Most of the viral diseases are spread by either sexual contact or by contact with blood, usually either drug use, accidental needle injuries among health care workers, unsterilized tattoo and body piercing equipment, or through a blood transfusion or transplant. Other vectors exist.

Whether a donor is considered to be at "too high" of a risk for a disease to be allowed to donate is sometimes controversial, especially for sexual contact. High risk sexual activity is defined in many different ways, but usually includes:

- Sex in exchange for money or drugs.

- Men who have sex with men, the most controversial criterion.

- A recent history of sexually transmitted disease.

- Sex with a person who has had a positive test or was at high risk for a disease that can be spread in blood transfusions.

Countries aim to prevent XDR-TB by ensuring that the work of their national TB control programmes, and of all practitioners working with people with TB, is carried out according to the International Standards for TB Care. These emphasize providing proper diagnosis and treatment to all TB patients, including those with drug-resistant TB; assuring regular, timely supplies of all anti-TB drugs; proper management of anti-TB drugs and providing support to patients to maximize adherence to prescribed regimens; caring for XDR-TB cases in a centre with proper ventilation, and minimizing contact with other patients, particularly those with HIV, especially in the early stages before treatment has had a chance to reduce the infectiousness. Also an effective disease control infrastructure is necessary for the prevention of XDR tuberculosis. Increased funding for research, and strengthened laboratory facilities are much required. Immediate detection through drug susceptibility testing's are vital, when trying to stop the spread of XDR tuberculosis.

HIV infection rates in central Africa are generally moderate to high.

Breastfeeding with HIV guidelines established by the WHO suggest that HIV-infected mothers (particularly those in resource-poor countries) practice exclusive breastfeeding only, rather than mixed breastfeeding practices that involve other dietary supplements or fluids. Many studies have revealed the high benefit of exclusive breastfeeding to both mother and child, documenting that exclusive breastfeeding for a period of 6 months significantly reduces transmission, provides the infant with a greater chance of survival in the first year of life, and helps the mother to recover from the negative health effects of birth much more quickly.

Despite these positive indicators, other studies have determined that bottle-fed babies of HIV-infected mothers approximately has a 19 percent chance of becoming infected, in comparison to breastfed babies who had an approximate 49 percent chance of infection. Such a variance in findings makes it difficult to institute a proper set of guidelines for HIV-infected women in third-world or developing countries, where alternative forms of feeding are not always acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable, and safe (AFASS). Thus after much research, the benefits and/or consequences of breastfeeding with HIV are still currently under debate.

When infection attacks the body, "anti-infective" drugs can suppress the infection. Several broad types of anti-infective drugs exist, depending on the type of organism targeted; they include antibacterial (antibiotic; including antitubercular), antiviral, antifungal and antiparasitic (including antiprotozoal and antihelminthic) agents. Depending on the severity and the type of infection, the antibiotic may be given by mouth or by injection, or may be applied topically. Severe infections of the brain are usually treated with intravenous antibiotics. Sometimes, multiple antibiotics are used in case there is resistance to one antibiotic. Antibiotics only work for bacteria and do not affect viruses. Antibiotics work by slowing down the multiplication of bacteria or killing the bacteria. The most common classes of antibiotics used in medicine include penicillin, cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, macrolides, quinolones and tetracyclines.

Not all infections require treatment, and for many self-limiting infections the treatment may cause more side-effects than benefits. Antimicrobial stewardship is the concept that healthcare providers should treat an infection with an antimicrobial that specifically works well for the target pathogen for the shortest amount of time and to only treat when there is a known or highly suspected pathogen that will respond to the medication.

The virus that causes AIDS is the best known of the transfusion-transmitted infections because of high-profile cases such as Ryan White, a haemophiliac who was infected through factor VIII, a blood-derived medicine used to treat the disease. Another person who died of medically acquired HIV/AIDS was Damon Courtenay, who died in 1991 due to a bad batch of factor VIII.

The standard test for HIV is an enzyme immunoassay test that reacts with antibodies to the virus. This test has a window period where a person will be infected but not yet have an immune response. Other tests are used to look for donors during this period, specifically the p24 antigen test and nucleic acid testing.

In addition to the general risk criteria for viruses, blood donors are sometimes excluded if they have lived in certain parts of Africa where subtypes of HIV that are not reliably detected on some tests are found, specifically HIV group O. People who have been in prison for extended periods are also excluded for HIV risk.

There is usually an indication for a specific identification of an infectious agent only when such identification can aid in the treatment or prevention of the disease, or to advance knowledge of the course of an illness prior to the development of effective therapeutic or preventative measures. For example, in the early 1980s, prior to the appearance of AZT for the treatment of AIDS, the course of the disease was closely followed by monitoring the composition of patient blood samples, even though the outcome would not offer the patient any further treatment options. In part, these studies on the appearance of HIV in specific communities permitted the advancement of hypotheses as to the route of transmission of the virus. By understanding how the disease was transmitted, resources could be targeted to the communities at greatest risk in campaigns aimed at reducing the number of new infections. The specific serological diagnostic identification, and later genotypic or molecular identification, of HIV also enabled the development of hypotheses as to the temporal and geographical origins of the virus, as well as a myriad of other hypothesis. The development of molecular diagnostic tools have enabled physicians and researchers to monitor the efficacy of treatment with anti-retroviral drugs. Molecular diagnostics are now commonly used to identify HIV in healthy people long before the onset of illness and have been used to demonstrate the existence of people who are genetically resistant to HIV infection. Thus, while there still is no cure for AIDS, there is great therapeutic and predictive benefit to identifying the virus and monitoring the virus levels within the blood of infected individuals, both for the patient and for the community at large.

The BCG vaccine has limitations, and research to develop new TB vaccines is ongoing. A number of potential candidates are currently in phase I and II clinical trials. Two main approaches are being used to attempt to improve the efficacy of available vaccines. One approach involves adding a subunit vaccine to BCG, while the other strategy is attempting to create new and better live vaccines. MVA85A, an example of a subunit vaccine, currently in trials in South Africa, is based on a genetically modified vaccinia virus. Vaccines are hoped to play a significant role in treatment of both latent and active disease.

To encourage further discovery, researchers and policymakers are promoting new economic models of vaccine development, including prizes, tax incentives, and advance market commitments. A number of groups, including the Stop TB Partnership, the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, and the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, are involved with research. Among these, the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation received a gift of more than $280 million (US) from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and license an improved vaccine against tuberculosis for use in high burden countries.

A number of medications are being studied for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, including bedaquiline and delamanid. Bedaquiline received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in late 2012. The safety and effectiveness of these new agents are still uncertain, because they are based on the results of a relatively small studies. However, existing data suggest that patients taking bedaquiline in addition to standard TB therapy are five times more likely to die than those without the new drug, which has resulted in medical journal articles raising health policy questions about why the FDA approved the drug and whether financial ties to the company making bedaquiline influenced physicians' support for its use.

Researchers had hoped that nonoxynol-9, a vaginal microbicide would help decrease STI risk. Trials, however, have found it ineffective and it may put women at a higher risk of HIV infection.