Prevalence of Cryptosporidiosis among HIV Seropositive Patients in a Tertiary Health Institution, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Cryptosporidiosis is a neglected disease. At this critical moment in the fight against HIV/AIDS, when the world has made incredible progress in reducing the HIV/AIDS scourge, the fight against opportunistic infections should be encourage especially war against Cryptosporidium parvum. Cryptosporidiosis causes prolong or persistent diarrhoea in HIV/AIDs patients and the cost of rehydration and management of such patients is huge, therefore this research set to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidiosis among HIV seropositive patients attending a tertiary health centre in Nigeria. Methodology: This is a prospective descriptive cross – sectional study and 182 consecutive adults and children of both sexes between one year and sixty-five years who were HIV seropositive and receiving treatment at Prof Sadiq Wali treatment center in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano. Result: The mean age of subjects studied was 26 years ± 14.7. There were 74 males (40.7%) and 108 females (59.3%). Out of the 74 males investigated for C. parvum 21 (28.3%) were positive for the parasite representing 36% of the total seropositive population sampled. Thirty seven (37, 34.2%) females tested positive with the parasite representing 63.7%. Fifty six (56, 56.5%) of the fifty eight C. parvum ELISA seropositive were obtained from subjects who presented with mucoid diarrhoea. An isolate rate of 55.0% was obtained from those with CD4 counts of less than 200 cell/cmm, 12 (15.6% C. parvum. ELISA seropositive subjects were obtained from those with CD4 counts of 200-500 cell/cmm. This was stastically significant with p=0.001, Pearson ChiSquare= 35.167, positive Spearman Correlation coefficient of 0.340. Conclusion: The prevalence of Cryyptosporidiosis in this study was 31.9%. Improved health education and prompt referral to tertiary health institution will improve the quality of life of people living with HIV.