title: Pneumocystis jirovecii colonisation in HIV-positive and HIV-negative subjects in Cameroon.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), a major opportunistic infection in AIDS patients in Europe and the USA, in Cameroon.
  
  
  METHODS
  Induced sputum samples from 237 patients without pulmonary symptoms (126 HIV-positive and 111 HIV-negative outpatients) treated at a regional hospital in Cameroon were examined for the prevalence of Pneumocystis jirovecii by specific nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) and staining methods. CD4counts and the history of antiretroviral therapy of the subjects were obtained through the ESOPE database system.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Seventy-five of 237 study participants (31.6%) were colonised with Pneumocystis, but none showed active PCP. The Pneumocystis colonisation rate in HIV-positive subjects was more than double that of HIV-negative subjects (42.9% vs. 18.9%, P < 0.001). In the HIV-positive group, the colonisation rate corresponds to the reduction in the CD4lymphocyte counts. Subjects with CD4counts >500 cells/μl were colonised at a rate of 20.0%, subjects with CD4counts between 200 and 500 cells/μl of 42.5%, and subjects with CD4counts <200 cells/μl of 57.1%. Colonisation with Pneumocystis in Cameroon seems to be comparable to rates found in Western Europe. Prophylactic and therapeutic measures against Pneumocystis should be taken into account in HIV care in western Africa.
authors.affiliation: Division of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Rostock Medical School, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Riebold
authors.affiliation: Division of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Rostock Medical School, Rostock, Germany.|Regional Hospital Limbe, Limbe, Cameroon.
authors.forename: D O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Enoh
authors.affiliation: Regional Hospital Limbe, Limbe, Cameroon.
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Kinge
authors.affiliation: Regional Hospital Limbe, Limbe, Cameroon.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Akam
authors.affiliation: Regional Hospital Limbe, Limbe, Cameroon.
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Bumah
authors.affiliation: Division of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Rostock Medical School, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Russow
authors.affiliation: Division of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Rostock Medical School, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klammt
authors.affiliation: Division of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Rostock Medical School, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loebermann
authors.affiliation: Division of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Rostock Medical School, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fritzsche
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Eyong
authors.affiliation: Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Eppel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biostatistics and Informatics in Medicine and Ageing Research, University of Rostock Medical School, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kundt
authors.affiliation: Division of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Rostock Medical School, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hemmer
authors.affiliation: Division of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Rostock Medical School, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Reisinger
keywords: 
  AIDS
  ; 
  HAART
  ; 
  HIV
  ; 
  PCP
  ; 
  PCR
  ; 
  SIDA
  ; 
  VIH
  ; Cameroon; Cameroun; Camerún; HAART; PCP; PCR; Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia; Pneumocystis pneumonia; SIDA; VIH; colonisation; colonización; neumonía por Pneumocystis jirovecii; pneumonie à Pneumocystis jirovecii; terapia antirretroviral altamente efectiva