Spectrum of AIDS-defining Opportunistic Infections among Anti-retroviral treatment-naïve HIV-seropositive Cases in Northeast India

Abstract

The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Indian adults is 0.22%, while it is 0.8% worldwide.1 Anti-retroviral treatment-naïve HIV patients are prone to opportunistic infections (OIs) owing to waning of their cellular immunity as their CD4+ T cell counts gradually decline. Although combined anti-retroviral treatment (cART) has reduced the prevalence of OIs in patients living with HIV, approximately one-quarter of treatment-naïve HIV patients still present with full-blown acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The incubation period of AIDS is 7 to 10 years.2 The aim of this study was to describe the burden and spectrum of OIs among treatment-naïve HIV patients.