Malaria parasitemia in HIV-infected children attending antiretroviral therapy clinic in a teaching hospital

Abstract

Background: Malaria and HIV are important health problems in developing countries. They cause more than 4 million deaths a year globally. The interaction of these two infections is both synergistic and bidirectional. We determined the prevalence of malaria coinfection in HIV-infected children attending antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinic. Materials and Methods: A prospective study of all HIV-infected children attending the ART clinic of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria, over a 5-year period was carried out. Malaria parasite was identified by Giemsa-stained blood films using a light microscopy. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 20.0. Results: The total numbers of children screened were 236. Of those, 73 (31%) had malaria/HIV coinfection. One hundred and twenty-one (51.3%) were males and 115 (48.7%) were females. The mean age of the children was 8.63 ± standard deviation 3.76 years (range of 1–17 years). Conclusions: The study shows that the rate of malaria and HIV coinfection is high. Prompt treatment of malaria and malaria disease prevention are recommended for children.

Keywords

• Children
• HIV
• malaria parasitemia