In several countries of sub-Saharan Africa more than 10% of the adult population are infected with HIV, while in large towns such as Kampala, Lusaka, Blantyre, Kigali and Harare this proportion exceeds 25%. One of the most obvious consequences is the increased occupancy of hospital beds by patients with HIV infection, perhaps to the exclusion of patients with other ailments. This paper gives an overview of several hospital occupancy studies.