Open AccessTrichomonas vaginalis in HIV/AIDS subjects in Nigeria
Author(s) -
Emeka Innocent Nweze,
GN Mouneke
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
asian pacific journal of tropical disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.208
H-Index - 33
ISSN - 2222-1808
DOI - 10.1016/s2222-1808(11)60066-2
Subject(s) - trichomonas vaginalis , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , incidence (geometry) , medicine , urine , veterinary medicine , demography , gynecology , obstetrics , immunology , physics , sociology , optics
Objective: To determine the prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis (T. vaginalis) in HIV/AIDS\udpatients attending two different hospitals in southeast Nigeria. Methods: We collected 970 urine\udsamples from HIV/AIDS patients attending two different hospitals in southeast Nigeria. Samples\udwere processed by microscopy and cultural methods. Results: Out of the 970 screened, 355 (36.60%)\udwere positive for T. vaginalis. Subjects with the least CD4+ count in the range of 40-140 cells/\udmL had the highest number of positive samples (180, 50.70%), while those in the range of 480-580\udcells/mL had the least value (2, 0.56%). Those in the rural areas had a higher number of positive\udsamples (155, 38.75%) than their urban counterparts (200, 35.09%) with respect to the total number\udexamined in each group but this was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Out of the 355 positive\udcases, the university undergraduate students ’ group had the highest percentage incidence of\ud53.00% followed by the low-income group with 47.08%. Conclusions: It can be concluded that\udthe occurrence of T. vaginalis increases with decrease in the CD4+ counts in HIV/AIDS patients in\udNigeria. Since T. vaginalis may be an important cofactor in promoting the spread of HIV and, in\udsome circumstances, may have a major impact on the epidemic dynamics of HIV, there is a need\udto take measures to check the spread of this parasitic infection