Prevalence and Pattern of Intestinal Parasitic Infestations among HIV Infected Children in Lagos, Nigeria

Introduction: Intestinal parasitic infections significantly affect paediatric population globally with over 800 million children at risk. The chronic nature of these infestations is associated with chronic disabilities approaching 9 million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). Co-infection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and intestinal parasitic infections adorned the pre-Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) era resulting in impaired nutritional state and dysfunctional immune system, especially amongst affected children. The success of HAART in conjunction with other life-saving measures has improved the outcome of children living with HIV. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and pattern of parasitic infections among children living with HIV in Lagos. Methodology: Consecutive children attending the paediatric anti-retroviral clinic were enrolled. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics elicited from the clinical examination were recorded. Fresh stool samples of the children were obtained and examined for intestinal parasites. Data were analyzed with the Statistics Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 20 software. Results: A total of 102 children participated in the study with a majority being males (52.9%), in primary school (73.5%) and living in urban settings (82.4%). Six children were found to harbour intestinal parasites giving a prevalence of 5.9% with Ascaris lumbricoides (50%) and Entamoeba histolytica (33.3%) being the prevalent parasites seen. Children with a Body Mass Index (BMI) Z-score < ?1 had higher estimates of intestinal parasitic infestations [p value < 0.05, OR 10.27, CI 1.72 - 61.20]. Conclusion: The prevalence of intestinal infestation was 5.9% with Ascariasis being the commonest intestinal parasitosis in our study. Malnutrition was found to be significantly associated with its occurrence.