RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To understand the infection status and gene types of Cryptosporidium among HIV/AIDS patients in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. METHODS: The fecal samples were collected from 285 HIV/AIDS cases in Nanning, Guilin, Qinzhou, Baise, Hechi cities of Guangxi and 150 HIV negative persons in Nanning City. The modified acid-fast staining and nested-PCR based on 18S rRNA were employed to detect the infection status of Cryptosporidium. The nested PCR products were sequenced, and the homology searches and identification for the gene types of Cryptosporidium were done by DNAStar software. RESULTS: The infection rate of Cryptosporidium in HIV/AIDS patients was 0.70% (2/285), and the rate of those with chronic diarrhea was 6.67% (2/30), the latter was significantly higher than that of the HIV negative persons (0, 0/150) (P = 0.002). Both the two HIV/AIDS patients infected with Cryptosporidium were from Guilin City. By molecular identification, the Cryptosporidium strains which the above 2 patients were infected with were Cryptosporidium andersoni and Cryptosporidium hominis respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Cryptosporidium co-infection can be found in HIV/AIDS patients in Guangxi. The genotypes of the infection strains include Cryptosporidium andersoni and Cryptosporidium hominis.
