Malaria and HIV/AIDS Coinfection in Patients Under Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy at the Regional Hospital of Bafoussam (West Cameroon)

Romeo Tankoua-Tchounda; Jacques Nack; Christian Mbohou Nchetnkou; Desire Leonard Keptcheu Tchankwe; Michel Lontsi-Demano; Estelle Essangui; Alex Kevin Tako Djimefo; Leopold Gustave Lehman

doi:10.1155/2024/5520975

Malaria and HIV/AIDS Coinfection in Patients Under Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy at the Regional Hospital of Bafoussam (West Cameroon)

J Parasitol Res. 2024 Oct 28:2024:5520975. doi: 10.1155/2024/5520975. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Romeo Tankoua-Tchounda¹, Jacques Nack¹, Christian Mbohou Nchetnkou¹, Desire Leonard Keptcheu Tchankwe², Michel Lontsi-Demano², Estelle Essangui¹, Alex Kevin Tako Djimefo¹, Leopold Gustave Lehman¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology of Animal Organisms, Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala PO 24157, Douala, Cameroon.
² Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Dschang, PO Box 067, Dschang, Cameroon.

Abstract

Background: Malaria and HIV/AIDS are the two most common infections responsible for morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. The studies were carried out worldwide. However, no study has targeted HIV-positive patients at the Bafoussam Regional Hospital (West Cameroon), one approved treatment center, where patients are adhering well to their HIV treatment. The objective of this study was to identify the Plasmodium species and to determine the prevalence of the malaria parasite in relationship with associated factors in HIV+ patients followed at the Bafoussam Regional Hospital. Methods: A prospective study included 585 patients who responded to the questionnaires from May to December 2021. Parents or legal guardians of children under 15 responded on their behalf on knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards malaria. Venous blood samples collected in EDTA tubes were subjected to malaria diagnosis by rapid tests (Standard Diagnostics Boline), and the results were confirmed by microscopy. The blood count was undertaken on hematology analyzer (Mindray Company, Shenzhen, China). Results: Plasmodium vivax (4.3%) and mostly Plasmodium falciparum (95.7%) were identified. In this study population, 46 (7.9%) of the patients carried one or the other Plasmodium species, and 532 (90.9%) had undetectable HIV viral loads. The prevalence of malaria was significantly higher among those using traditional pharmacopoeia (9 (16.7%)) compared to patients taking generic treatments (37 (7.0%)) (p < 0.01; OR: 2.69). Factors associated with malaria prevalence, such as sociodemographic characteristics, viral load, type of protocol, duration of antiretroviral treatment, monthly income, subdivision, and knowledge attitudes and practices towards malaria, showed no significant differences (p > 0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that HIV+ patients were carriers of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax with an appreciable overall prevalence. The only factor influencing the prevalence of malaria was using traditional medicine.

Keywords: AIDS; Cameroon; HIV-malaria coinfection; HIV-positive; viral load.