Prevalence of Leishmania infection in adult HIV/AIDS patients treated in a tertiary-level care center in Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil

In order to estimate the magnitude of Leishmania/HIV co-infection, patients with HIV/AIDS at the Brasilia University Hospital, DF, Brazil were used as subjects in a cross-sectional study. One hundred and sixty-three patients were enrolled, seven of whom had viscera[ leishmaniasis (VL). One hundred and twelve patients (68.7%) were men; 155 (95.1%) had been exposed to HIV infection through unprotected sex. The median age was 37 years (range: 20-74) and the median CD4+ lymphocyte count was 314 cells/mu l (range: 2-1600). Symptomatic patients underwent bone marrow evaluations through direct examination of Giemsa-stained films, parasite culture and PCR assay. Blood samples were evaluated by means of an indirect immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT), an ELISA using a soluble antigen of L. chagasi (ELISA), an ELISA with the rK39 antigen (ELISA-rK39) and a PCR targeted to the kDNA region and to the internal transcribed spacer 1 of the rDNA gene. The proportion of positive results was 2.4% for the IFAT, 12.3% for the ELISA and 4.9% for the rK39 tests. The estimated prevalence was 16%. The PCR in the blood was positive in three patients (1.8%). The prevalence of Leishmania spp. infection is high among HIV patients attending this Brazilian center suggesting that they should be routinely investigated for VL infection. (C) 2009 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.