Dual Infection of HIV and Malaria among HIV-Infected Individuals in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Aim: Malaria and HIV, two of the world’s most deadly diseases are wild spread, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This study was carried out to detect circulating malaria P. falciparum among HIV-infected individuals in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, between August 2012 and July 2015.

Methods: A total of 100 blood samples confirmed to be HIV positive were collected and subjected to detection of circulating P. falciparum malaria using malaria P. falciparum Rapid test devices and ELISA kit (Dia. Pro) following the respective manufacturer's instructions.

Results: Overall prevalence of P. falciparum was 5.0%. The result showed a higher HIV and malaria co-infection among age groups 20-24 years indicating that a higher portion of subjects with malaria parasitemia was from this age groups (5.7%) compared to other age groups (16-19 years, 5.0% and 25 years & above, 3.5%). Sex-specific co-infection indicated that prevalence of HIV/malaria co-infection was only present among females (11.9%).

Conclusion: This study further confirms the presence of HIV and malaria co-infection among the population studied. Routine screening of malaria among HIV-positive patients is therefore advocated.