Prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus among Tuberculosis Patients Visiting Metehara Sugar Factory Hospital, Oromia Regional State:

Abstract

Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death for HIV-infected patients, and HIV is the most important risk factor for developing active TB. The risk of death from TB is significantly higher in the HIV-infected population. The interaction between TB - HIV co-infected person is bidirectional and synergistic: HIV infection predisposes to the development of active TB, and the course of HIV-related immunodeficiency is worsened by active TB infection. The aim of this five-year retrospective study was to assess the prevalence of TB - HIV co-infections among patients who visited Metehara Sugar Factory Hospital (MSFH) from March 2012 to April 2017. In total 1165 TB patients visited MSFH from March 2012 to April 2017 and of these 1028
(88 %) who had a documented HIV test results were included in the study. Data were collected from medical records of all TB patients who were on antituberculosis treatment during the aforementioned period. About 21 % of them were found HIV-positive. The percentage of TB/HIV co-infection was higher in females than males, single than married individuals, unemployed than employed and active working force than other age groups. The ART coverage of the TB/HIV co-infected patients was 78 % which was lower than WHO target of 100 %. Interventions to prevent HIV transmission among TB patients include counseling for patients and preventive intervention programs that attempt to change high-risk behavior.