[Prevalence of opportunistic digestive parasitic infections in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Results of a preliminary study in 50 AIDS patients]

Abstract

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as in many African countries, AIDS and its procession of opportunistic infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In Kinshasa, the estimated prevalence rate of HIV-infected persons is between 4 and 5%, corresponding to more than 200,000 people. Due to the lack of trained laboratory personnel and appropriate diagnostic equipment, no local investigation has been carried out to determine the prevalence of the opportunistic digestive parasitic infection in HIV-infected persons. As a step to obtaining this information that is needed for implementation of an adequate care policy, a preliminary investigation was carried out in Paris, France on 50 stool samples from 50 AIDS-patients hospitalized in 3 reference hospitals in Kinshasa. Eleven patients (22%) had digestive symptoms with a diarrhea syndrome. Further study using specialized techniques demonstrated 2 cases of digestive infection related to opportunistic parasites (4%). The first involved a Cryptosporidium sp. The second represented the first case of Enterocytozoon bieneusi infection reported in the literature from the DRC.