ObjectivesDisseminated histoplasmosis is an AIDS-defining illness. Histoplasmosis is commonly misdiagnosed as tuberculosis. Nigeria has the second highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa. The present study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of skin sensitivity amongst Nigerians to histoplasmin.DesignA cross-sectional study was conducted in six centres across five geopolitical zones of Nigeria.MethodsWe recruited both healthy non-HIV and HIV-positive adults with CD4 count ≥ 350 cells/mm3 regardless of their ART status from March to May 2017. Skin tests were performed intradermally; induration ≥5 mm were considered to be histoplasmin positive.Results750 participants were recruited from Lagos (n = 52), Yola (n = 156), Ilorin (n = 125), Calabar (n = 120), Ibadan (n = 202) and Benin (n = 95). 467 (62.3%) were HIV negative, 247 (32.9%) were HIV positive and 36 (4.8%) did not know their HIV status. A total of 32/735 (4.4%) participants had a positive skin test. Study centre (p<0.001), education (p = 0.002) and age (p = 0.005) appeared to be significantly associated with positive skin reactivity at the 0.5% significance level, while sex (p = 0.031) and occupation (p = 0.031) would have been significant at the 5% significance level. Males had a higher rate of reactivity than females (p = 0.031, 7% vs 3%). The highest positive rates were recorded from Benin City (13/86 (15%)) and Calabar (7/120 (6%)) and no positives were recorded in Lagos (p<0.001). HIV status was not statistically significant (p = 0.70).ConclusionHistoplasmosis diagnostics should be included in the Nigerian HIV guidelines. Epidemiological vigilance of progressive disseminated histoplasmosis should be considered by local health authorities.

Background: In view of the maturing HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, better understanding of its epidemiology among older adults is necessary in order to design appropriate care and treatment programmes for them. Objectives: To describe the demographic and epidemiological characteristics of HIV opportunistic infections among newly enrolled patients aged 50 years and above in Ibadan, South-West Nigeria. Methods: Analysis of data extracted from electronic records of 17, 312 subjects enrolled for HIV/AIDS care and treatment between January 2006 and December 2014 at the ART clinic, University College Hospital, Ibadan. Results: Age of the patients ranged from 18 to 90 years with a mean of 36.4 years (SD= 10.3) with older adults constituting 12.0% (2075). Among older adults, about half (52.9%) were females. Majority (59.1%) were currently married while 25.9% were widowed. Prevalence of opportunistic infections was 46.6%. The commonest opportunistic infections (OIs) were: oral candidiasis (27.6%), chronic diarrhoea (23.5% and peripheral neuropathy (14.8%). Significant factors associated with opportunistic infections in older adults were: CD4 count less than 350 (OR=3.12, CI: 2.29-4.25) and hepatitis C virus co-infection (OR=2.17, CI: 1.14-4.13). Conclusion: There is need for prompt response to the peculiar challenges associated with the emerging shift in the epidemiology of HIV and associated infections in sub-Saharan Africa.

Results 112 HIV-infected women were enrolled, of whom 52 nonpregnant and 60 pregnant. In this population, mean age was 32.3 years (SD = 8.2), 62.5% had a previous history of sexually transmitted diseases, 46.4% began sex life with 15 years or less, 33.1% reported having less than 3 sexual partners throughout life, 45.8% had undetectable HIV viral load. We found a prevalence of 5.4% of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in HIV-infected women followed. There was an association of CT with the presence of pregnancy (10.0% versus 0.0%; p = 0.019), HIV viral load > 10,000 copies (p < 0.001) and the mean time of HIV diagnosis (21.0 versus 69.2 months; p = 0.032). We found no association with other risk factors studied (ethnicity, marital status, education, use of alcohol and drugs, CD4