Characteristics of HIV Co-Infected Patients among Tuberculosis Patients Accessing Care at a DOTS Clinic in South-Eastern Nigeria

Background: One third of the world’s population constituting 2 billion people are infected with Tuberculosis (TB), which is the second most common cause of mortality amongst communicable diseases. Nigeria ranks fourth among 22 high TB burden countries. One of the major challenges to the control of TB is the presence and interaction of TB with HIV. In many parts of Africa, infection with HIV has further increased TB morbidity and mortality. To effectively control TB in Africa the co-infection with HIV must be perfectly understood and adequate measures and strategies developed and implemented. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study, carried out between January 2012 and April 2014 at the DOTS clinic of a tertiary hospital in South-Eastern Nigeria. Three hundred and eighty-four tuberculosis patients were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and data on their HIV status and other characteristics were collected. Data were analysed using SPSS Version 20. Results: Three hundred and eighty-four tuberculosis patients participated in the study. Eighty-six patients (22.4%) were HIV seropositive. There were 182 males (47.4%) and 202 females (52.6%). The commonest age group was the group 20 - 39 years (51.6%). HIV seropositivity was highest among the age group 20 - 39 years and this was statistically significant (X2 = 11.14, p = 0.01). The married patients had the highest proportion of HIV seropositivity and this was statistically significant (X2 = 40.76, p = 0.00). The unemployed patients had the highest proportion of HIV seropositivity and it was statistically significant (X2 = 35.14, p = 0.00). Conclusion: Some basic characteristics of tuberculosis patients predispose them to HIV/TB co-infection. The characteristics must be explored further and be factored in the strategies to control tuberculosis in Africa.