Norovirus infection among HIV-infected patients in Abuja, Nigeria: impact of combination antiretroviral therapy status

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 1 - 623
• Main Authors: Osazuwa, Favour, Johnson, William Olayemi, Grobler, Hailey Seth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central Ltd 21.09.2023; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Analysis; Antiretroviral agents; Antiretroviral therapy; Antiviral agents; Care and treatment; cART; Causes of; CD4; CD4 antigen; Complications and side effects; Demographic aspects; Diarrhea; Disease; Distribution; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; Flow cytometry; Gastroenteritis; Health aspects; Highly active antiretroviral therapy; HIV; HIV (Viruses); HIV infection; HIV patients; Human immunodeficiency virus; Immune system; Immunocompromised hosts; Immunology; Infections; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Norovirus; Patients; Polymerase chain reaction; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Transplants & implants; Urban areas; Vomiting; Nigeria; South Korea; Abuja Nigeria; United States > US
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-023-08592-3

Norovirus is now recognized to be major cause of gastroenteritis worldwide, with significantly higher disease burden among immunocompromised patients. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Norovirus among HIV-infected patients and to evaluate the impact of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) status on Norovirus prevalence in a sub-urban area of Abuja, Nigeria. This study included a total of Two hundred and fifteen subjects (85 cART-naïve and 130 cART-exposed) HIV-infected patients. Age range of study participants was 18 to 60 years. Faecal specimens where collected in screw capped containers and analyzed for Norovirus using Accupower Norovirus real-time PCR Test kit. CD4 + cell count was determined using flow cytometry. The prevalence of Norovirus among cART-naïve HIV-infected patients was 10.6%. Age and gender was not associated with norovirus infection. cART -naïve HIV-infected patients with CD4 + cell count < 200 was significantly more infected with Norovirus as compared to those with CD4 + count [greater than or equal to] 200 (OR: 28.000, 95% CI 3.2237, 243.2007, P = 0.0025). Norovirus was also found to be significantly higher in cART-naïve HIV-infected patients than amongst cART-exposed counterparts (OR: 6.882, 95% CI: 1.4514, 32.6343, P = 0.015). The prevalence of Norovirus among cART-naïve HIV-infected patients was high; and was significantly higher in subjects with low CD4 + counts. Screening for Norovirus among cART-naïve HIV-infected patients is however emphasized to allow for effective Norovirus disease management.