Prevalence of intestinal parasites in a cohort of HIVinfected patients from Antioquia, Colombia

Abstract

Introduction: HIV infection is still a public health problem worldwide, and co-infections with other infectious agents, including intestinal parasites are of particular concern, mainly in developing countries, like Colombia.
 Objective: To conducte a cross-sectional research in patients attending an HIV care program in the province of Antioquia, given that intestinal prevalence studies on the HIV population are few in the country,.
 Material and methods: Stool samples from 192 patients were evaluated by direct wet mount and concentration; modified Ziehl Neelsen staining and agar plate culture. Univariate and correlation analyses were done to explore the association between socio-demographic, clinical characteristics and, parasitological data.
 Results: The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites in HIV positive subjects was 29.2% (56/192; 95%CI: 22.8% to 35.6%), being Entamoeba histolytica/dispar/ moshkosvkii 13.0% (25/192; 95%CI: 8.2% to 17.8%), and Blastocystis 12.0% (23/192; 95%CI: 7.4% to 16.6%) the most frequent. Opportunistic parasites like Cryptosporidium spp. and Cystoisospora belli were less prevalent, each one with 0.5% of positive samples (1/192; 95%CI: 0.1% to 1.5%). Commensal protozoa were also detected, with a prevalence of 18.8% (36/192; 95%CI: 13.3% to 24.3%). Most of the individuals in the study had a controlled viral load and an LTCD4 count greater than 200 cel/µL. A small percentage (9.3%) had diarrhea. Bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression showed that only age and having pets had a significant association with intestinal parasites in the studied cohort.
 Conclusions: Our results confirm that the population evaluated is at high risk of intestinal parasite infection, which highlights the need to include routine screening for gastrointestinal parasites to provide prompt treatment and reduce possible complications.

Intestinal Parasitic Infection and Associated Risk Factors among HIV-Infected Patients Seeking Healthcare in a Rural Hospital in Ghana

“…In terms of the demographic characteristics of the participants, there were no significant differences in infection rate with regard to age and marital status, although we recorded a higher proportion of older folks being infected, similar to findings from previous studies [ 5 , 16 ]. That notwithstanding, our study revealed that participants with lower levels of education or no education at all were significantly infected with intestinal parasites than their counterparts with higher education.…”

“…Parasitic infections among HIV-infected patients are common in various regions and populations across the world and have since remained a persistent public health challenge [ 4 , 5 ]. Intestinal parasitic infection rates from previous studies ranged from 15% to 80% among people living with HIV in developing nations [ 6 , 7 ].…”

“…Approximately, 80% of AIDS patients' deaths are attributable to coinfection with other infectious agents, including intestinal parasites [ 3 ]. The introduction of antiretroviral therapy has proven significant effectiveness in reducing the burden of gastrointestinal infections in HIV-positive patients [ 5 ]; nonetheless, most people living with HIV infection still suffer from gastrointestinal parasitic infections as the prevalence rates continue to remain significantly high [ 6 , 7 ]. Lack of sanitary facilities and lack of health education are major reasons reported to facilitate the transmission of intestinal parasites, especially among HIV patients [ 1 , 12 ].…”

Coccidios y enfermedades oportunistas en pacientes con vih.

“…La infección por VIH sigue siendo un problema de salud pública a nivel mundial y las coinfecciones con otros agentes infecciosos, incluidos los parásitos intestinales, de particular preocupación, principalmente en países en vías de desarrollo (Botero-Garcés et al, 2021).…”

Prevalence of Diarrhea Caused by Intestinal Parasites in Children in AL-Kufa City, Iraq

“…Therefore, the children in the countryside are more susceptible to infection than children in the city, where the cultural, health, and living standards are low, and the frequent breeding of domestic animals increases the low level of hygiene, in addition to providing an opportunity for the gathering of insects, including flies, which are the best mechanical carrier for protozoan bags and worms' eggs (23,24) .…”