PLoS ONE (Jan 2011)

HIV prevalence and impact on renutrition in children hospitalised for severe malnutrition in Niger: an argument for more systematic screening.

  • Yoann Madec,
  • David Germanaud,
  • Violeta Moya-Alvarez,
  • Wafa Alkassoum,
  • Aichatou Issa,
  • Morou Amadou,
  • Stephanie Tchiombiano,
  • Cecilia Pizzocolo,
  • Florence Huber,
  • Sanata Diallo,
  • Roubanatou Abdoulaye-Mamadou

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0022787
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 7
p. e22787

Abstract

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BackgroundIn developing countries, malnutrition is a contributing factor in over 50% of child deaths. Mortality rates are higher in underweight children, and HIV-infection is known to increase underweight. Our goals were to evaluate the prevalence of HIV among children hospitalised for severe malnutrition (SM) at the Niamey national hospital (Niger), and to compare renutrition and mortality by HIV-status.MethodsRetrospective study based on all children ResultsDuring the study period, 477 children were hospitalised for SM. HIV testing was accepted in 470 (98.5%), of which 40 were HIV+ (HIV prevalence (95% confidence interval) of 8.6% (6.2-11.5)). Duration of renutrition was longer in HIV+ than HIV- children (mean: 22 vs. 15 days; p = 0.003). During renutrition, 8 (20%) and 61 (14%) HIV+ and HIV- children died, respectively (p = 0.81).ConclusionAround 9% of children hospitalised for severe malnutrition were HIV infected, while in Niger HIV prevalence in adults is estimated at 0.8%. This pleads for wider access to HIV testing in this population.