Health point prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus and pulmonary tuberculosis among patients in various parts of Delta State, Nigeria

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in the study population in Delta State of Nigeria.

METHODS: Two hundred and five patients suspected of HIV and TB were prospectively studied in Kwale, Agbor and Eku in Delta State of Nigeria from February 2006 to February 2008. Human immunodeficiency virus status was determined using World Health Organization systems II, and Zeihl Nelson staining technique was used for TB screening.

RESULTS: A health point prevalence rate of 53.2%, was obtained for HIV, 49.3% for TB, and 16.6% for HIV/TB. The population of HIV positive (p=0.890, p=0.011, p=0.006) and TB positive (p=0.135, p=0.0003, p=0.0001) subjects were statistically significant among the suspected subjects while the HIV/TB positive cases were not statistically significant (p=0.987, p=0.685, p=0.731).

CONCLUSION: Our study showed that HIV and PTB infections remains high in parts of Delta State in Nigeria.