Abstract
HIV and Tuberculosis co-infection pose diagnostic and therapeutic challenges on public health care systems. Mycobacterium tuberculosis and HIV exert synergistic effects in accelerating the deterioration of hosts immunologic functions and response. The demographic pattern of patients with suspected cases of tuberculosis were determined in this study. A total of 277 patients records were retrospectively analyzed over an eighteen month period. Patients sputum smears were screened using Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique. The rates of HIV infection in suspected tuberculosis patients was 7.22% (n=20). Incidence of infection was higher in females (58.3%) when compared with males (41.7%), while incidence of HIV-TB co-infection was highest among the 21-30 years age group. It is essential that strategies aimed at effectively controlling HIV and Tuberculosis be re-examined with emphasis being placed on public enlightenment, identification of sources and control of spread.
Highlights
IntroductionThere are an estimated 9 million new cases of tuberculosis and 2.6 million new HIV cases annually [1][2]
Out of the world’s population of over 7 billion people, 2 billion people are estimated to be latently infected with tuberculosis[1], while 35.3 million people are living with HIV, [70% of which are living in sub-Saharan Africa][2].Tuberculosis (TB) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) remain the main burden of infectious diseases and cause of death emanating from infectious diseases in developing countries [1]
There was a preponderance of young adults in the study as 59.2% (n=164) of the research subjects were below the age of 40 while 40.8% (n=113) of the research subjects were above the age of 40
Summary
There are an estimated 9 million new cases of tuberculosis and 2.6 million new HIV cases annually [1][2]. In 2011, out of the 8.7 million tuberculosis cases recorded, 1.1 million (13%) were among individuals living with HIV[2]. The epidemiological and physiologic synergy between HIV and TB, influencing the incidence, distribution and outcomes of both infections, has been well documented and established [3].Mycobacterium tuberculosis and HIV coinfections pose peculiar diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, while exerting enormous pressure on the weakened healthcare systems characteristic of some African nations. Mycobacterium tuberculosis-HIV coinfection exerts synergistic effects on one another, thereby fast-tracking a decline in immunological functions, leading to premature deaths, if left untreated [4]. Tuberculosis and HIV have potentiating effects on the immune system. Tuberculosis-HIV co-infection is capable of deactivating the hosts’ immune response through mechanisms that remain to be fully understood. HIVTuberculosis co-infection remains a foremost risk factor, increasing the risk of progression of pulmonary tuberculosis from the latent stage to the active stage 20-fold [5][6]
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