H. Pylori Prevalence and Its Effect on CD4+ Lymphocyte Count in Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients at Hospitals in Jimma, Southwest Ethiopia

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Background: Helicobacter pylori, a lifelong and typically asymptomatic infection of the stomach, strongly alter gastric immune responses. The present study aimed to survey the prevalence and related risks of H. pylori infection among tuberculosis (TB) patients at hospitals in Jimma City, Southwest Ethiopia. Methods: Comparative cross sectional study was conducted from February to June, 2014. Fifty four PTB patients and an equal number of non TB controls were enrolled. Convenient sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Structured questionnaire was used to collect socio demographic and clinical data. The stool for H. pylori antigen detection and venous blood for CD4+ lymphocyte count was collected. Results: Among 108 study participants, 62 (57.4%) was females. Majority of the study participants, 48 (44.4%) were in the age group of 18-34 years and the mean age of the participants was 37.5 ± 10.7 SD. The prevalence of H. pylori infection among TB patients and non TB controls were 19 (35.2%) and 11 (20.4%), respectively. TB patients with CD4+ lymphocyte count of less than 200Cells/mm3 was more likely to be infected. Conclusion: H. pylori infection among TB patients was significantly higher than non TB controls. Low CD4+ lymphocyte count was found to be associated with high H. pylori infection among TB patients. Further study should be undertaken to reveal the potential pathogenic mechanisms for underlying associations for H. pylori and TB infection.