|
|
||||||||
The disease course of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is often altered by existing or newly acquired coinfections. Treatment or prevention of these concomitant infections often improves the quality and duration of life of HIV-infected persons. The impact of helminth infections on infections with HIV is less clear. However, HIV is frequently most problematic in areas where helminth infections are common. In advance of the widespread distribution of drugs for elimination of lymphatic filariasis, we assessed the prevalence of active Wuchereria bancrofti infection among HIV-positive patients in Chennai, India at two time points separated by four years. We found that the overall prevalence of W. bancrofti infections among HIV-positive persons was 5–9.5%, and there were no quantitative differences in circulating filarial antigen levels between HIV-positive and HIV-negative filarial-infected patients.
Received December 10, 2007. Accepted for publication May 31, 2008.
Financial support: This study was supported by the Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD).
Disclaimer: None of the authors have any conflicts of interest.
* Address correspondence to Kawsar R. Talaat, Center for Immunization Research, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Hampton House Room 249, 624 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205. E-mail: ktalaat{at}jhsph.edu
Authors addresses: Kawsar R. Talaat, Center for Immunization Research, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Hampton House Room 249, 624 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, Tel: 410-502-9627, Fax: 410-502-9627, E-mail: ktalaat{at}jhsph.edu. Nagalingaswaren Kumarasamy, Y. R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education, Voluntary Health Services, Tharamani, Chennai, India, Tel: 91-44-2254-2929, Fax: 91-44-2254-2949, E-mail: kumarasamy{at}yrgcare.org. Soumya Swaminathan, Tuberculosis Research Centre, Indian Council of Medical Research, Spur Tank Road, Chetput, Chennai, India, Tel: 91-44-2836-9500/9624, Fax: 91-44-2836-2525, E-mail: doctorsoumya{at}yahoo.com. Ramya Gopinath, Howard County General Hospital, Infectious Disease Associates, 11055 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044, Tel: 410-884-1311, E-mail: ragopinath{at}yahoo.com. Thomas B. Nutman, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Building 4, Room B1-05, 4 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, Tel: 301-496-5399, Fax: 301-480-3757, E-mail: tnutman{at}niaid.nih.gov.
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |