Study of Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infection among HIV Seropositive Subjects and High Risk Group for HIV Infection in Bagmati Zone, Nepal

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in HIV infected subjects and high risk group population for HIV infection in Nepal. A cross sectional study was conducted on 112 HIV infected subjects and 84 high risk group subjects from June to November 2005. A single stool specimen were examined for the detection of protozoal trophozoites, oocyst and cysts and helminthic eggs and larva. Microscopic examination was done by normal saline wet mount, iodine preparation and Kinoyun modified Ziehl Neelsen staining method. Also the stool specimens were concentrated by formol ether sedimentation and Sheather's sucrose floatation technique. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites was found 35.7% (26.7% in HIV infected subjects and 47.6% in high risk group population). Trichuris trichiura was the commonest parasite in HIV infected subjects (63.3%), whereas hookworm was the commonest parasite among high risk group population (62.5%).We found association of parasitic infections with the gastrointestinal tract symptoms in both population groups. Multiparasitic infections were prominent among HIV infected subjects (7.2%) than high risk group population (4.8%) though the result was not significant. Similarly the protozoal infections were found more prominent in HIV infected subjects (4.5%) than high risk group population (1.2%).The opportunistic protozoa Cryptosporidium parvum was detected only in HIV infected subjects (1.8%).Our study highlights the importance of testing for intestinal parasites in patients who are HIV positive and increasing awareness for HIV testing among high risk group population.