Prevalence of malaria among HIV patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy in Kogi State, North Central Nigeria

Background: Malaria and HIV diseases kill millions of people yearly, and they are the scourges of developing nations. This study was conducted to determine the coinfections of malaria and HIV, and the effect of demographic characters on HIV-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Kogi State, Nigeria. Methods: Five hundred and eleven participants consisting of 411 (51 males and 360 females) HIV-infected patients on HAART and 100 (8 males and 92 females) apparently healthy HIV-noninfected individuals who served as controls were enrolled in this study. Blood sample was collected from each participant and malaria was diagnosed using the standard procedure. Results: An overall prevalence of 7.8% and 2% of malarial infection was observed in HIV-infected patients on HAART and non-HIV participants, respectively. The prevalence of malaria among HIV patients on HAART differed signifi cantly (P < 0.0001) among the local government councils, with patients from Ogori-Magongo having the least prevalence (0.0%). Age, gender, type of occupation, clinical manifestations, anemia, and CD4+ T-cell count <200 cells/μL affected the prevalence of malarial infection (P < 0.05) in this study. Conclusion: Diagnosis of malaria among HIV patients on HAART is advocated.