Prevalence of Malaria in relation to anti‐retroviral therapy among HIV/ AIDS patient’s in selected Hospitals in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

The prevalence of malaria infection was determined in 400 patients (331 HIV positive and 69 HIV negative patients) in Kaduna metropolis and Zaria. The study combined the use of structured questionnaires and analysis of blood samples taken from consenting patients. The blood samples were analyzed using thick and thin blood films for malaria infection and enzyme linked immuno†sorbent assay for HIV analysis. Malaria infection was detected in 153 samples among HIV patients giving a prevalence of 46.2% and 36 samples among HIV negative patients giving a prevalence of 52.2%. HIV patients on highly active antiâ€retroviral therapy (HAART) had a prevalence of 43.0% while HIV patients not on HAART had a prevalence of 55.1%. HIV negative patients had a prevalence of 52.2%. The prevalence recorded among HIV patients was high even though it was lower than that of HIV negative patients. This indicates that more attention and care needs to be given to HIV patients to reduce risks of malaria infection and also to significantly reduce the burden of malaria in endemic regions especially Subâ€Saharan Africa.