Opportunistic Intestinal Protozoan Infections and Immunological Status of HIV/AIDS Patients in Jalingo Local Government, Taraba State

Abstract

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the immune system. Opportunistic intestinal protozoans are among the major contributors to the global intestinal parasite load. This study investigated the danger and complication due to intestinal protozoans’ infection among HIV/AIDS patients in Jalingo metropolis. The study also compared the prevalence of opportunistic intestinal protozoa infection and CD⁴⁺ T-Cell count between HIV/AIDS and non HIV patients. The procedure of wet mount technique and faecal concentration methods were employed. The CD⁴⁺ count of patients were determined using the Partee Cyflow Counter, which determines the percentage of CD⁴⁺ cells of individuals. The prevalence of opportunic intestinal protozoan parasites was higher among female positives, 68 (l9.60%) than the male, 50 (16.50%) with no significant difference (p>0.05). The infection based on age groups revealed that the age group 10-15 years had the highest prevalence of 27 (48.21%) while the age group 41-45 years had the least prevalence of 2 (2.63%). The prevalence of intestinal parasites was highly significant among the study participants with CD⁴⁺ count <200 cells/μl. <i>Cryptosporidium spp</i> was significantly associated with HIV positive subjects who had CD⁴⁺ count of less than 200 cell/μl. The prevalence of intestinal parasites was highly significant among the study participants with CD⁴⁺ count <200 cells/ul. The implications of these findings are discussed and solution proposed to curb opportunistic infections among HIV/AIDS patients.