Human cytomegalovirus infection in Nigerians living with human immunodeficiency virus

Abstract

Context : Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients are at higher risk for Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. Aim: To identify HCMV and HIV co-infection among Nigerian patients for prompt therapeutic interventions. Materials and Methods: The study drew samples from the antiretroviral clinic of Nigerian Institute of Medical Research and patients' informed consent was taken at enrollment. Variables collected included socio-demographic characteristics such as sex, occupation, marital status, educational status, income, and religion, while health-related variables were CD4 counts and HIV viral load. Genomic DNA from whole blood samples of 236 patients, 164 (69.5%) females and 72 (30.5%) males, was subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 2 genes within conserved immediate early (IE) and late (LA) transcribed regions of HCMV genome. Statistical Analysis: Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used to determine frequencies of HMCV infection, while Chi square was used to examine associations between patient's characteristics and HMCV infection. Results: A total of 35 (14.8%) patients; 25 (10.6%) females and 10 (4.2%) males were positive for HCMV infection. Although there was variation in prevalence of HCMV in different marital status, it was statistically insignificant (P = 0.734; P > 0.05). Results also showed that 22 (62.9%) of HCMV positive patients had HIV viral load greater than 10,000, prevalence of HCMV decreased as CD4 counts increased, while 12 (34.3%) of HCMV positive patients had CD4 counts between 1 and 200. Conclusions: This study is the first molecular survey of HCMV/HIV co-infection in Nigeria and has provided valuable information for prompt therapeutic intervention to reduce morbidity among HIV patients.