The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infection among TB patients in Port Harcourt Nigeria

The joint statement by the American Thoracic Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Infectious Diseases Society of America recommends that all patients with tuberculosis (TB) undergo testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection after counseling. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of HIV infection among 120 patients diagnosed with microbiologically proven TB aged 18 to 54 years with a mean age of 39.5 years (standard deviation 6.75). The subjects studied were 36 male (30%) and 84 females (70%). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods were used to screen for HIV infection among the subjects. Of the 120 TB patients tested 30 (25%) were positive for HIV infection. The prevalence of HIV was higher in females 24 (80%) compared to males 6 (20%) and among singles (66.7%) compared to married subjects (33.3%) (chi(2) = 83.5 and chi(2) = 126.2, respectively P = 0.001). HIV-1 was the predominant viral subtype. HIV prevalence was significantly higher in subjects in the 38-47 year and 28-37 year age groups (both 40%) followed by the 18-28 year age group (20%) (chi(2) = 42.6, P = 0.05). The mean CD4 lymphocyte count of the HIV-infected TB subjects was significantly lower (195 +/- 40.5 cells/mu L) compared to the non-HIV infected (288 +/- 35.25 cells/mu L P = 0.01). This study has shown a high prevalence of HIV among TB patients. Reactivation of TB among people living with HIV can be reduced by TB preventive therapy and by universal access to antiretroviral therapy.