Cryptosporidiosis among HIV/AIDS Patients with Diarrhoea and Associated Risk Factors in Jos, North-Central Nigeria

Cryptosporidiosis is an opportunistic, parasitic infection caused by Cryptosporidium parvum. It is transmitted via faecal-oral route and causes life-threatening, cholera-like diarrhoea in immunocompromised individuals such as HIV/AIDS patients. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis and associated risk factors among HIV/AIDS patients with diarrhoea. This was a cross-sectional study of 100 HIV/AIDS patients with diarrhoea in a tertiary health institution in Jos, North-central Nigeria between April and November 2019. Fifteen millilitres (15ml) of stool samples were collected from each patient after signing a consent form and filling a well-structured questionnaire. The oocytes of Cryptosporidium parvum were identified in the stool samples using modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The results obtained were computed using SPSS version 21. The mean age (standard deviation) of the study participants was 37.0 (± SD9.6), with a minimum age of 20years and a maximum age of 63 years. The study comprises of 53(53.0%) males and 47(47.0%) females. Fifty-four (54) of the participants were on antiretroviral (ARV) drugs while 46 were ARV drug naïve. The prevalence of cryptosporidiosis among the study population was 13.0%. Cryptosporidiosis was found in 10(21.7%) of the 46 ARV drugs naïve participants and in 3(5.6%) of the 54 participants on antiretroviral therapy. This was statistically significant at p = 0.016. There was also a significant relationship (p = 0.012) between the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis and the level of CD4+ T-lymphocytes count of the study participants. The infection was more among participants with CD4+ T-lymphocytes count less than 200 cells/μl. This stress the need for good personal hygiene, sanitation and compliance to antiretroviral treatment among HIV/AIDS patients to reduce the risk of opportunistic infections such as cryptosporidiosis.