Bacterial agents isolated from cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and neurological complications

Abstract

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 2083 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and neurological complications were bacteriologically examined during a period of 7 years (1984-1990). The percentage of patients who had at least one bacterial agent cultured from the CSF was 6.2%. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was the most frequently isolated agent (4.3%), followed by Mycobacterium avium complex or MAC (0.7%), Pseudomonas spp (0.5%), Enterobacter spp (0.4%), and Staphylococcus aureus (0.3%). Among 130 culture positive patients, 89 (68.5%) had M. tuberculosis and 15 (11.6%) had MAC. The frequency of bacterial isolations increased from 1988 (5.2%) to 1990 (7.2%), partly due to the increase in MAC isolations. Bacterial agents were more frequently isolated from patients in the age group 21-30 years and from women (p < 0.05).

Multiple isolates from Aids patients: aspects of an analysis by a genotypic marker and antimicrobial susceptibilities variations

“…It occurs in a range of 15 to 40% of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients in developed countries and 95% of the isolates are represented by M. avium (Inderlied et al 1993). However, in developing countries such as Brazil, this opportunistic infection was not considered a major problem for Aids patients until recently, when it was demonstrated that MAC infection are beginning to emerge associated with Aids (Barreto et al 1993, Landgraf at al. 1994, Fandinho at al.…”

Analysis of Mycobacterium avium Complex Serovars Isolated from AIDS Patients from Southeast Brazil

“…In Brazil an increase in the frequency of M. avium complex infections has also been found associated with AIDS patients (Barreto et al 1993, Landgraf et al 1994. Recognition of the importance of MAC infection in AIDS has stimulated epidemiological studies concerning it.…”