Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestation in HIV/AIDS patients with diarrhea in Madurai City, South India.

Ramakrishnan, K.; Shenbagarathai, R.; Uma, A.; Kavitha, K.; Rajendran, R.; Thirumalaikolundusubramanian, P.

Japan Journal of Infectious Disease; 2007; 60; 209-210.

Summary: The prevakence and pattern of parasitic infestation among 80 HIV/AIDS paitents with diarrhea in Madurai, south India, was studied by microscopy. Eighty HIV-negative patients were used as controls. Intestinal parasites were detected in 31 HIV/AIDS patients (38.7%) and in 14 (17.5%) HIV-negative patients, a difference that was statistically signficiant ( P < 0.05). In HIV/AIDS patients with diarrhea, protozoa accounted for the majority of diarrhea cases ( Entamoeba spp. 37.5%, Cryptosporidium parvum 28.7%). It is therefore suggested that enteric infections are more common in HIV-infected patients than in HIV-negative persons in south India, and this may be due to differences in immunological profile, susceptibility as well as factors related to sanitation and the environment.

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