TY - JOUR T1 - The Scourge of HIV Infection in Sub-Saharan Africa — A Rheumatological Perspective JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 973 LP - 974 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.110119 VL - 38 IS - 6 AU - MOHAMMED TIKLY Y1 - 2011/06/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/38/6/973.abstract N2 - Nowhere has the devastation from HIV/AIDS been more greatly felt than in sub-Saharan Africa. Of the estimated 33 million people globally who live with HIV/AIDS, 22.5 million or 5% of the adult population are from this region and 1.3 million people have succumbed to the infection in 20091. Much of the clinical and research efforts have been directed, and rightly so, at preventing the spread of the disease and treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). But like syphilis in previous times, HIV/AIDS has become the great mimic of the 21st century, and the burden from noninfectious systemic complications is substantial.Since the first report of HIV-associated reactive arthritis almost a quarter of a century ago2, a wide spectrum of HIV-related rheumatic syndromes have been reported3. Many of the syndromes have clinical features that overlap with those of the more classical rheumatic disorders. A striking example is diffuse infiltrative lymphocytosis syndrome masquerading as primary Sjögren’s syndrome. The spondyloarthropathies (SpA), previously very rare in Africa, have emerged in the wake of the HIV pandemic, adding significantly to the diagnostic and therapeutic rheumatic burden4. Seemingly benign isolated soft-tissue lesions, … Address correspondence to Dr. Tikly; E-mail: mohammed.tikly{at}wits.ac.za ER -