Investigation of Visceral Leishmaniasis and Coinfection of Intestinal Parasites in HIV-Positive Patients

Abstract

Objective: Parasitic infections are more frequently observed in immunosuppressed cases, such as those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Furthermore, compared to immunocompetent cases, a more severe clinical course is observed in the immunosuppressed patient group. HIV-positive individuals have increased pathogenicity of parasites and may exhibit a wide range of clinical symptoms of varying severity that may result in mortality. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a vector-borne disease and an important opportunistic infection seen in HIV/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) cases, most notably in Southern Europe and Africa, where both infections are endemic. Several parasites namely toxoplasmosis, cryptosporidiosis, isosporiasis, cyclosporiasis, amebiasis, giardiasis, plasmodium, and strongyloidiasis are infections posing significant risk factors for these patient groups. Materials and Methods: In this study, visceral leishmaniasis was investigated serologically in serum samples and parasitic infections were analyzed by conventional methods in fecal samples from HIV-positive cases. Results: 5 of the 42 cases included in the study were female. The mean age of these cases was 38.7 years (19-66). Blastocystis spp was detected in 5 fecal samples obtained from HIV-positive cases. The rK39 dipstick test with serum samples yielded a very weak band in one case, while none of the other tests yielded a positive band. Conclusion: The regional prevalence of these latent infections, which can be subclinical in HIV-positive patients, is important to know. However, the literature lacks sufficient data on the situation in Turkey. In this study, the prevalence of enteric parasitic infections in people with HIV infection in our region was found to be low and VL was not detected.