January 2017 Vol. 5 No.1

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Short Communication

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in Bulgarian HIV-infected patients

Nina Yancheva^1*, Nina Tsvetkova², Irina Marinova², Ivaylo Elenkov¹, Tatyana Tchervenyakova¹, Maria Nikolova³ and
Ivaylo Aleksiev⁴

¹AIDS Department, Specialized Hospital for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases – Sofia, Medical University – Sofia, Bulgaria
²National Reference Laboratory of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases – Sofia, Bulgaria
³National Reference Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases – Sofia, Bulgaria
⁴Confirmatory National Laboratory of HIV, National Institute of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases - Sofia, Bulgaria

*Corresponding Author’s Email: dr.yancheva@abv.bg

Accepted December 31, 2016

Abstract

This study assessed the frequency of intestinal parasites and characterized epidemiological, etiological and clinical variables in 33 HIV-infected Bulgarian patients with dyspeptic symptoms for the past 5-year period. Results were positive for parasitic intestinal infections in 25 % of individuals. All patients had good socioeconomic conditions with basic sanitation, urban dwellings, treated water supply and sewage, good nutritional status. Most of the patients were before starting or at the beginning of cART. Parasites were found at the following frequencies: cryptosporidia (n = 3), Giardia lamblia (n = 3) and Blastocystis hominis (n = 2). The study emphasizes the need to perform stool examinations for the detection of parasites in patients with dyspeptic disorders, particularly, but not exclusively, in patients with diarrhea.

Keywords: cART. HIV/AIDS, Immune suppression, Intestinal parasites