I really appreciated The Daily's staff editorial titled " Another dimension of the AIDS crisis" (Nov. 13). It is important to remember that drugs alone don't solve all problems, and that often we in the West must remember the differences between the First and Third Worlds. The link between food and AIDS drug efficacy is one such instance.

Another often-forgotten fact is the link between AIDS and tuberculosis (TB). TB is the largest killer among HIV positive individuals; in order to have a complete AIDS drug program, TB treatment should be included. TB is a fast killer and without treatment can end a life in as little as 21 days.

Currently the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) spends far too little money on TB, especially in Africa. This means many of the 26 million infected with HIV in Africa will not live long enough to receive AIDS drugs. This is not just someone else's problem, either. We must remember that disease affects us all and can infect us all. Recently a strain of extremely drug-resistant TB (which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared virtually incurable) broke out in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and 52 of the reported 53 cases ended in death. I've taken the flight to KwaZulu-Natal and back, and I assure you, it's not that far away.

Scott Johnson

Graduate student, electrical engineering