INTESTINAL PARASITIC INFECTIONS AMONG HIV-INFECTED CHILDREN IN MINNA, NIGERIA

Intestinal parasitic infection which is one of the basic public health problems in tropical countries is uncommon among HIV – infected patients. These have been reported to be more frequent and severe among HIV infected children than their adult counterparts. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitosis among HIV/AIDS infected children attending Minna General Hospital, Niger State, North central Nigeria. Stool specimens from HIV/AIDS patients and HIV uninfected children (control group) were screened for intestinal parasites using Kato-Katz thick smear technique and modified Zeihl-Neelsen method. Out of 181 participants recruited among patients consulting at the hospital, 78 (43.1%) were HIV-infected and 103 (56.9%) were the control group. Out of the 78 HIV/AIDS patients, 21.8% (17/78) were positive for intestinal parasitic infection while only 7.8% (8/103) of their HIV negative counterparts were infected with intestinal parasites. The most common parasites identified among HIV-infected children were Ascaris lumbricoides (28%), Entamoeba histolytica (28%), Giardia lamblia (12%), Trichuris trichiura (4%), Cryptosporidium species (20%) and Schistosoma mansoni (8%) compare with Ascaris lumbricoides (14%), Entamoeba histolytica (20%), Trichuris trichiura (2%) and Schistoma mansoni (8%) which were found among HIV uninfected children. Intestinal parasitic infection was significantly higher among participants with CD4 count lower than 200 μl/cell, with 39% prevalence rate of which most of them were asymptomatic. Cryptosporidium species which was the only identified opportunistic parasite was observed majorly among children with lower CD4 counts and its prevalence was significant at p < 0.05.