Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestation in HIV/AIDS patients with diarrhea in Madurai City, South India.
The prevalence and pattern of parasitic infestation among 80 HIV/AIDS patients with diarrhea in Madurai, south India, was studied by microscopy. Eighty HIV-negative patients were used as controls. Intestinal parasites were detected in 31 HIV/AIDS patients (38.7%) and in 14 (17.5%) HIV-negative patients, a difference that was statistically significant (P < 0.05). In HIV/AIDS patients with diarrhea, protozoa accounted for the majority of diarrhea cases (Entamoeba spp. 37.5%, Cryptosporidium parvum 28.7%). It is therefore suggested that enteric infections are more common in HIV-infected patients than in HIV-negative persons in south India, and this may be due to differences in immunological profile, susceptibility as well as factors related to sanitation and the environment.
Ramakrishnan
Kuppamuthu
K
Tuberculosis Research Centre, Lady Dark College, Madurai, India. shenbagarathai@rediffmail.com.
Shenbagarathai
Rajaiah
R
Uma
Alagappan
A
Kavitha
Karuppusamy
K
Rajendran
Rathinasamy
R
Thirumalaikolundusubramanian
Ponniah
P
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D003457:Cryptosporidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D016785:Cryptosporidium parvum / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004403:Dysentery / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000821:virology; D004747:Entamoeba / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004749:Entamoebiasis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D006678:HIV; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence