An Assessment of Malaria Parasite Density among HIV/AIDS-Subjects at Different Levels of CD4 T-Cells Prior to Antimalarial Therapy at Chulaimbo Sub-County Hospital, Western Kenya

BACKGROUND: Malaria and HIV/AIDS infections are among the major public health concerns in sub-Saharan Africa, where they are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Recent findings indicate that individual people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) with lower levels of CD4 T-cell count below 200/mm(3) tend to experience higher mean malaria parasite densities than their counterparts with higher CD4 T-cells counts. AIM: The study was conducted to assess the pattern of malaria parasite density at different levels of CD4 T-cells among people living with HIV/AIDS in Western part of Kenya. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A randomized antimalarial treatment study among 126 people living with HIV/AIDS was conducted at Chulaimbo Sub-County Hospital, Western Kenya. All the participants enrolled into the study had their blood samples assessed for malaria parasite densities before commencement of antimalarial therapy and the results correlated with their CD4 T-cells levels obtained from their respective files. RESULTS: Mean malaria parasite density on pretreatment samples was 43,168 parasites /μL of blood, median was 17,720, and mode was 4,000. Male participants had a higher geometrical mean parasite density (26,424) compared to females' (15,346) (p = 0.03). Low CD4 counts were associated with high density malaria parasitaemia and consequently, very high CD4 counts seemed to exhibit low malaria parasite density among PLWHA. An insignificant negative correlation, however, between CD4 T-cells count and malaria parasite densities was noted (p = 0.169). CONCLUSION: The study was able to establish higher parasite density among individuals with ≤200 cells/μL than their counterparts with >200 cells/μL of CD4 T-cell levels in PLWHA resident in Western Kenya. Secondly, males significantly had a higher geometrical mean parasite density than females regardless of their CD4 status. It is anticipated that the results from this study could be used/applied in developing interventional measures to address malaria/HIV-AIDS coinfections aimed at saving life, particularly in the sub-Saharan African region where the two infections are rampant.