Prevalence of Leishmania infection in adult HIV/AIDS patients treated in a tertiary-level care center in Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil

• Published in: Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2009-07, Vol.103 (7), p.743-748
• Main Authors: Carranza-Tamayo, César O., Assis, Tália Santana Machado de, Neri, Ana Teresa Basílio, Cupolillo, Elisa, Rabello, Ana, Romero, Gustavo Adolfo Sierra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; AIDS; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - diagnosis; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - epidemiology; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - immunology; Brazil; Brazil - epidemiology; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Cross-Sectional Studies; Early Diagnosis; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; HIV; HIV-1 - genetics; HIV-1 - immunology; Humans; Leishmania chagasi; Leishmaniasis; Leishmaniasis, Visceral - diagnosis; Leishmaniasis, Visceral - epidemiology; Leishmaniasis, Visceral - immunology; Male; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Unsafe Sex - statistics & numerical data; Visceral leishmaniasis; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0035-9203; 1878-3503
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2009.01.014

In order to estimate the magnitude of Leishmania/HIV co-infection, patients with HIV/AIDS at the Brasilia University Hospital, DF, Brazil were used as subjects in a cross-sectional study. One hundred and sixty-three patients were enrolled, seven of whom had visceral leishmaniasis (VL). One hundred and twelve patients (68.7%) were men; 155 (95.1%) had been exposed to HIV infection through unprotected sex. The median age was 37 years (range: 20–74) and the median CD4+ lymphocyte count was 314 cells/μl (range: 2–1600). Symptomatic patients underwent bone marrow evaluations through direct examination of Giemsa-stained films, parasite culture and PCR assay. Blood samples were evaluated by means of an indirect immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT), an ELISA using a soluble antigen of L. chagasi (ELISA) , an ELISA with the rK39 antigen (ELISA-rK39) and a PCR targeted to the kDNA region and to the internal transcribed spacer 1 of the rDNA gene. The proportion of positive results was 2.4% for the IFAT, 12.3% for the ELISA and 4.9% for the rK39 tests. The estimated prevalence was 16%. The PCR in the blood was positive in three patients (1.8%). The prevalence of Leishmania spp. infection is high among HIV patients attending this Brazilian center suggesting that they should be routinely investigated for VL infection.