PREVALENCE OF RIFAMPICIN RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS AMONG HIV/AIDS PATIENTS ATTENDING SPECIALIST HOSPITAL, LAFIA, NASARAWA STATE.

Rifampicin (RIF) and Isoniazid (INH) are the two most effective bactericidal agents in the treatment of Tuberculosis (TB) and, hence, is the cornerstone of present day TB therapy. The emergence of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis poses a serious threat to global control initiatives. This study set out to evaluate the prevalence of rifampicin resistance Mycobacterium tuberculosis among HIV/AIDS Patients. Prior to the study, ethical clearance and informed consent were obtained and structured questionnaires were administered. In a cross-sectional prospective study, Sputum samples were obtained from HIV/AIDS patients accessing healthcare in Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, Nasarawa State. Resistance to rifampicin and prevalence of TB were then detected with GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay machine (Xpert; Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA) following Standard Operating Procedure among the subjects. Data were analysed using SPSS version 16.0, and P Value ≤ 0.05 were considered significant. Out of the 503 sputum samples collected, 310(61.6%) were female and 193(38.4%) were male. The prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and rifampicin resistance were; 70 (13.9 %) and 15 (21.4%) respectively. The prevalence of MTB among HIV/AIDS patient in relation to gender was high in male (16.1%) than female (12.6%), high in those aged 38 - 47 years (17.3%) than 48-57 years (16.7%), high in rural dwellers (16.7%) than urban dwellers (12.2%), high among retirees (23.8%) than students (15.3%) and high among those with tertiary level of education (14.4%) than those with primary or secondary education; although these did not reach statistical significance (P > 0.05). Age, gender, Locations, Occupation, and educational level did not significantly influence the prevalence of TB (p > 0.05). However, TB-HIV co-infected who were female and married were more likely to develop drug resistance against rifampicin (P < 0.05). These findings have important implications for TB drug resistance and the control of TB, especially among high-risk groups.