Common HIV Opportunistic Infections: Study of Women attending Hospitals in Yenagoa/Okolobiri, Bayelsa State

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the common opportunistic infections associated with HIV/AIDS in women attending hospitals in Yenagoa/Okolobiri in Bayelsa State. Two hundred and forty women took part in this study. These patients were sick and went to see their doctors. After investigations, they were referred to the HIV patients' centre. Samples were collected from each patient based on the signs, symptoms and complaints. These included, blood, sputum, and scrapped lesions from the mouth. All samples were sent to the laboratory for diagnosis. The Unigold (determine) test kit was used for the HIV testing. Tests for the various opportunistic infections were carried out. Of the 240 samples, 60 were HIV positive and 50 of these had opportunistic infections. The opportunistic infections include, TB (11.7%), malaria (4.2%), candidiasis (2.5%), HSV (.18%) and pneumonia (1.7%).The prevalence of HIV and opportunistic infections in HIV was highest in the 29-38years age group. Opportunistic infections were higher in rural than urban communities. The spectrum of the opportunistic infections highlights the urgency for studying HIV/AIDS especially in resource-limited areas where same is limited.

Keywords: HIV, opportunistic infections, women, yenagoa, okolobiri

Nigerian Journal of Parasitology, Vol. 32 [2] September 2011, pp. 221-224