Published on December 11, 2006 at 6:48 PM
Researchers believe they may well be a link between two of the biggest killers in Africa, malaria and AIDS.
The researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington, suggest the two diseases interact in such a way that they spread faster.
They have found that when people suffering from AIDS contract malaria the HIV virus becomes 10 times more prevalent in their blood making them far more likely to infect a sexual partner.
The researchers say their findings demonstrate how other factors are able to influence the spread of HIV as people weakened by HIV are more susceptible to malaria.
The research was carried out in Kisumu, in Kenya and the scientists estimate that tens of thousands of HIV infections and millions of malaria cases could be linked to this co-infection.
The authors of the study say the biological co-factor induced by malaria has contributed considerably to the spread of HIV and fueled a rise in adult malaria infection rates.
The scientists estimate that tens of thousands of HIV infections can be blamed on this co-infection.
They also say genital herpes and tuberculosis are also suspected of increasing the likelihood of infection.
The study is published in the journal Science.