Low Malaria Prevalence in HIV-Positive Patients in Bamenda, Cameroon

Data on the prevalence of HIV and malaria coinfection in Cameroon is scanty. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of the coinfection in Bamenda which is the major urban city of the North West region of Cameroon, as well as to determine the risk factors that predispose HIV patients in Bamenda to infection with malaria. Subjects were randomly selected as they come for treatment in the HIV treatment center of Bamenda Regional Hospital and screened for malaria parasite. Of the 312 HIV patients who enrolled into the study, 231 (74%) were females and 81 (26%) were males. The median age of the participants was 38years. 80% of the HIV patients were on treatment for HIV and other opportunistic infections. 90 (28·8%) admit using mosquito net meanwhile 222 (71·2%) did not. Upon examining the blood sample from these patients, 7(2·24%) were coinfected with malaria. Among these 7 patients, only 2 were using mosquito net, and a majority of them were females (6). We therefore came to the conclusion that the prevalence rate of HIV and malaria coinfection was low and not using mosquito net is not a major risk factor (OR=1·01, P=1·0) for coinfection with malaria in HIV patients in Bamenda.