Coccidian parasitic infection in HIV positive patients attending Tertiary care Hospital in Nepal

Abstract

Background: Enteric opportunistic parasites are the leading cause of gastrointestinal tract infection in patients with HIV/AIDS. This study was carried out to establish the occurrence of intestinal coccidian parasitic infection among the HIV positive patients in Eastern Nepal. Materials and method: This was a hospital based study carried out in Microbiology laboratory, BPKIHS, Dharan, Nepal over a period of one year (May 2013 to April 2014). All HIV positive patients with CD4+ count ?200cells/l were included. Total 50 HIV positive patients participated in the study over one year period. Stool sample was collected after taking an informed written consent from the patient. Isolation and identification was done as per standard Microbiological procedure. Result: . The overall prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection in present study was 38%. Among the parasites, coccidian parasites comprised of 57.89% of total parasitosis, among 20% (n= 10) cases. Out of total coccidian parasites identified Cryptosporidium parvum comprised 72.7%, Cyclospora cayetanensis 18.2% and Isospora belli 9.1%. One patient had mixed Cryptosporidial and Cyclospora infection. Conclusion Coccidian parasitic infections are common in HIV positive patients at lower CD4+ count in Eastern part of Nepal.