Opportunistic and other intestinal parasites among HIV/AIDS patients attending Gambi higher clinic in Bahir Dar city,North West Ethiopia

Objective:To determine the magnitude of opportunistic and non-opportunistic intestinal parasitic infections among HTV/AIDS patients in Bahir Dar.Methods:Cross-sectional study was conducted among HIV/ AIDS patients attending Gambi higher clinic from Aprill- May 30,2009. Convenient sampling technique was employed to identify the study subjects and hence a total of 248 subjects were included.A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data of patients.Stool samples were examined by direct saline,iodine wet mount, formol-ether sedimentation concentration and modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique. Results:Out of 248 enrolled in the study,171(69.0%)(90 males and 81 females) were infected with one or more intestinal parasites.The highest rate of intestinal parasites were observed among HIV/AIDS patients(80.3%,151/188),and the infection rate of HIV negative individuals was 33.3%(20/60).Cryptosporidum parvum(43.6%),Isospora belli(15.5%) and Blastocystis hominis (10.5%) were opportunistic parasites that were found only in HIV/AIDS patients.Conclusions: Opportunistic parasite infections are common health problem among HIV/ AIDS patients in the study area.Therefore,early detection and treatment of these parasites are important to improve the quality of life of HIV/AIDS patients.

Prevalence of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis in Gondar prisoners,North West Ethiopia

Objective:To assess the prevalence and risk factors of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis among Condar town prisoners.North West Ethiopia.Methods:A cross sectional study was conducted from February to July,2008 in Condar Prison.Prisoners with cough duration of more than two weeks were involved in the study by giving three sputum samples and filling the questionnaires prepared for risk factor assessment.Acid fast staining technique was employed to delect the presence of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli in the sputum samples.Data was analyzed using SPSS version13 computer software and presented in table.Chi-square test was used to assess associations and a P-value less than 0.05 was taken as significant.Results:A total of 384 prisoners,349 male and 35 females,with a mean age of 33.3 years were involved in the study.The prevalence of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis among those prisoners with cough duration of more than two wecks was 8.59%.Only the length of imprisonment had a significant association(χ~2= 18.82,P-value【0.0001) with the prevalence of tuberculosis.Conclusions:This study indicated that tuberculosis among prisoners with cough duration of more then two weeks in Gondar prison is very high.Therefore Periodic screening of the prisoners and screening of newly introduced prisoners should be practiced so as to minimise the burden of tuberculosis in prisoners.