Airway bacteria and respiratory symptoms are common in ambulatory HIV-positive UK adults.

The widespread use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and Pneumocystis pneumonia prophylaxis has led to significant declines in opportunistic infection rates in people with chronic HIV infection. Despite this, pulmonary disease is more common in these patients than HIV-negative individuals [1]. Observational studies suggest that while bacterial pneumonia is reduced by ART, it still occurs relatively frequently even after CD4 T-cell reconstitution [2, 3]. Non-recurrent HIV-associated bacterial pneumonia is 10 times more likely than in uninfected individuals [3, 4], and is now the most common infection and the leading cause of death after sepsis [5].