The clinical and parasitological presentation of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Uganda is unaffected by HIV-1 infection

ABSTRACT

The relation between Plasmodium falciparum malaria and symptomatic human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infection was investigated in paediatric and adult patients in Kampala; Uganda; from 1987 to 1989. Both infections contributed largely to hospital morbidity. Of 1527 clinically suspicious in-patients; 61pc were positive for HIV-1 infection. 52pc of patients with positive HIV-1 serology fulfilled the World Health Organization clinical case definition for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Africa. No association could be found between HIV-1 infection and malaria either in paediatrics or in adults. P. falciparum parasitaemia was present in 18pc of all patients and no differences in prevalence of malaria infection or in parasite density could be demonstrated between HIV-1 positive and HIV-1 negative patients. The comparison of clinical symptoms showed typical differences in AIDS-related morbidity but no difference in malaria-specific morbidity. Also; the response to malaria treatment was the same in HIV-1 positive and HIV-1 negative patients. P. falciparum malaria does not appear to act as an opportunistic agent in AIDS patients in Uganda