Seroprevalence of HIV infection among paediatric tuberculosis patients in Agra, India: a hospital-based study

In this study which was carried over a period of 2 years, from 2003 to 2004, 270 paediatric patients with active Tuberculosis (TB) disease attending the OPD of S.N. Medical College, Agra were screened for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-1/2 antibodies. Of these, 23 were found to be HIV-positive. Seroprevalence of HIV infection among paediatric TB patients in Agra is 8.51% (23/270). The HIV infection was found to be significantly higher, i.e. 82.61% in male children than in female children, i.e. 17.39%. Among the age groups, which were divided into < or =1, 2-5, 6-10 and 11-15 years, maximum cases of HIV-positivity, i.e. 65.22% was observed in the age group, 2-5 years of age. Among the HIV-positive children with TB, 86.75% were of pulmonary and 13.04% were of extra-pulmonary type. Among the vaccinated children, 65.22% were found to be HIV-positive, while 34.78% of the HIV-positive children were not BCG vaccinated. HIV-positive children are more likely to suffer from prolonged fever, weight loss, failure to thrive, developmental delay, stunted growth, cough, anorexia, lethargy, lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) and hepatosplenomegaly while HIV negative are more likely to suffer from fever, diarrhoea, lymphadenitis, pallor and LRTI. 82.60% (19/23) of these TB patients had a history of positive contact with HIV, i.e. one of the parents was HIV-infected. The mode of transmission of HIV infection among paediatric TB patients was perinatal as revealed during the counselling sessions (pre-test and post-test) of both the parents.