This study aimed to determine the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) infection among people living with HIV who were enrolled in medical care at Alex-Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, in Ebonyi State. A total of 200 participants aged between 18 and 58 years were screened. Determine and Stat-PakTM test kits were used to confirm HIV status and the presence of TB in serum samples by dropping the sample on the test kit with the addition of two drops of buffer solution and left for 10 min before taking the readings. 42 (21%) of the study population were positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, of which 35 (83.3%) were male and 7(16.7%) were female. The occurrence of TB among different occupations showed that farmers were mostly affected by 27(64.3%), followed by artisans, and 9(21.4%), while traders had the least six (14.3%) occurrences. Of the TB seropositive subjects, the highest rate of 29(69.1%) was recorded in individuals within the age range of 38–47 years, followed by age range 48–57 years, 9(21.4%), and the least was 28-37 years, 4(9.5%). All TB positive results were found among rural dwellers. These findings are attributed to poor quality of life, illiteracy, social habits, and a lack of adequate sanitary conditions and health care. Since a low standard of living is a risk factor for TB, and because of the HIV pandemic, all new HIV patients must be screened for TB infection, and vice versa.
Onu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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