Prevalence of enteric parasitic infection among HIV-infected attendees of an inner city AIDS clinic.

One hundred individuals confirmed to be infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), volunteered to participate in a pilot study comparing clinical status and enteric parasite burden with race, age, CD4 levels, risk factors and sexual practice. The prevalence of enteric parasites was 55 (55%) for Giardia lamblia, 6 (6%) for Cryptosporidium, 10 (10%) for Isospora belli and 3 (3%) for Entamoeba histolytica. There was no associations between demographic variables and the presence of parasites. The presence of giardia was significantly associated with anal-penile sex (P = .017), with an odds ratio of 2.9. A logistic regression model was used to explain the presence of any parasite by a number of sexual practices. The only practice found to be significant was anal-penile sex, which substantially increased the likelihood of the presence of the parasites. In this regression, 38.5% of pairs were concordant and 12.2% were discordant. These findings differed from surveys conducted in similar populations. The significance of this will be discussed in the context of medical service provision to this and similar populations.