Aim: Although cryptosporidiosis is said to be rare among adult HIV
patients in certain parts of Nigeria, there are no documented studies
on the occurrence of this parasite among HIV patients in Southwestern
Nigeria. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study involving 150
patients (100 HIV infected and 50 HIV negative) with diarrhoea from two
tertiary and one secondary health institutions in Southwestern Nigeria.
Concentrated stool sample from each patient was screened for
cryptosporidium oocysts with the modified cold Ziehl Neelsen method
while direct sample was screened for other enteric parasites. Results:
The overall parasite prevalence rate in the diarrhoea patients is
79.3% (119/150) with Cryptosporidium parvum 52.7%, Ascaris
lumbricoides 11.3%, Hookworm 3.3%, Trichuris trichura 2% and
Entamoeba histolytica 10%. The parasite prevalence rate in HIV
infected patients is 97% while in HIV-negative patients, the rate is
44%. The rate is significantly higher among HIVinfected patients with
diarrhoea than among HIV-negative patients with diarrhoea (OR=41.152,
95%CI=11.467-147.68, P<0.0001). However this difference is
attributed to Cryptosporidium which was found exclusively among
HIV-infected patients. When Cryptosporidium prevalence was excluded
from analysis, the parasite prevalence rates between the two groups was
not significantly different (X2=0.8002, df=3, P=0.8494). Conclusion:
Contrary to a previous report of apparent rarity of cryptosporidium
infections in certain parts of Nigeria, this study revealed a high
prevalence of this parasitosis among HIV infected patients in
Southwestern Nigeria
