A comparative study on the prevalence of malaria parasite among HIV sero–positive and sero-negative individuals in Abakaliki Nigeria.

A total of 300 blood samples collected from patients at the Federal Medical Centre Abakaliki were examined for HIV infection and malaria parasite using TRI-Dot Immunoassay, capillus and genie Assay and Thick film techniques. The overall prevalence of malaria infection was 59% for HIV sero positive and 41% for HIV sero negative individuals respectively. Demographically, the prevalence was shown to be highest amongst those living in urban areas (71%) compared to those living in rural areas (31%). The prevalence between sex showed that females were more affected (59%) than males (41%); people within the age range of 21 – 30 have the highest prevalence (33%) while the elderly ones between 61 – 70 years of age were least affected (3%). The data also indicated that married people were more infected (60%) than the unmarried (40%). Statistical analysis indicates that there is a significant difference in malaria parasitaemia amongst HIV infected and non-infected individuals with respect to sex, age and marital status. Keywords : HIV, Malaria parasitaemia, sero positive, sero negative. African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology Vol. 9 (3) 2008: pp. 136-141