HIV infection and mycobacterium tuberculosis drug-resistance among tuberculosis patients in Burkina Faso, West Africa

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the drug-resistance patterns of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains among pulmonary tuberculosis patients, according to their HIV serostatus, in Burkina Faso. Tuberculosis (TB) patients were classified in new and previously treated cases by using a structured questionnaire. Susceptibility testing to isoniazid, streptomycin, rifampicin and ethambutol was done by the proportion method. Association between HIV-serostatus and drug-resistant TB was assessed with χ2 tests, and the statistical significance was set to P<0.05. Of 316 (249 new, 67 previously treated) patients included in the study, 68.7% were males and 28.8% were HIV-positive; females (36.4%) were more infected than males
(25.3%), (P=0.04). The average age of the patients was 37.24±12.76 years [11-75years]. Most of the patients infected with HIV were aged from 15 to 44 years and were females, (P=0.01). In the new cases of TB, the difference between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients was not statistically significant neither for the MDR-TB (P=0.40), nor for the resistant-TB to any drug (P=0.26). However, the difference was significant for the resistance to isoniazid and streptomycin alone (P=0.04). Among the previously treated patients, although there was more MDR-TB and more resistance to any drug in HIV-negative patients than among HIV-positive patients, these differences also were not statistically significant (P=0.54 and P=0.63, respectively). This study found no significant difference between TB/HIV-negative and TB/HIV-positive patients according to the resistance patterns to anti-TB medications, excepted the resistance to isoniazid in new cases and to isoniazid and streptomycin in all patients took globally. These results encourage the collaboration between the programs against TB and HIV to prevent rapid diffusion of drug-resistant TB and high mortality in patients living with HIV/AIDS as recommended by the World Health Organization.

Keywords: Tuberculosis, HIV, Drug resistance, Burkina Faso