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. 2004 Mar 22;87(3):263–266. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(93)90119-B

Prevalence of enteric viruses among hospital patients with AIDS in Kinshasa, Zaire

Donald M Thea a,b,c,d, Roger Glass a,b,c,d, Gary S Grohmann a,b,c,d, Jos Perriens a,b,c,d, Benjamin Ngoy a,b,c,d, Bila Kapita a,b,c,d, Uvoya Atido a,b,c,d, Mwamba Mabaluku a,b,c,d, Gerald T Keusch a,b,c,d,∗
PMCID: PMC7107222  PMID: 8236386

Abstract

Diarrhoea is the most common manifestation of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Africa. Numerous parasitic or bacterial agents have been implicated, but a pathogen-specific aetiology has not been found. Enteric viruses (i.e., rotavirus, small round structured viruses, coronavirus, and adenovirus) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or electron microscopy in faecal specimens of 17% of 198 consecutive adult admissions to a general medical ward of an urban hospital in Kinshasa, Zaire. Overall, 57% of patients were seropositive for infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) 1; of these, 50% were classified as World Health Organization Aids stage IV. The prevalence of enteric viruses in stool specimens did not differ significantly between patients with and without HIV infection, and was not associated with acute or chronic diarrhoea, or constitutional symptoms. However, a trend (P = 0·14) towards greater frequency of virus in stools from patients in the lower 3 quintiles of the CD4/CD8 T cell ratio was seen. This trend approached statistical significance (P = 0·07) with stratification by HIV infection. Although we found no evidence in this population to support a major pathogenic role for these viruses alone in the enteropathy of AIDS, increased viral shedding was weakly associated with immunodeficiency.

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Articles from Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene are provided here courtesy of Elsevier

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