The Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Persons with TB and TB/HIV CO-infection at the Chest Clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria

Abstract

Aim: Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS together pose the greatest threat to human health. This study assessed the prevalence and socio-demographic variables of persons affected with TB and TB/HIV co-infections at the chest clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria. Methods: A retrospective study of 726 patients treated at the chest unit, UNTH from 2003 to 2005 was conducted. A simple random sampling technique was used. Data proforma was used to extract information from the patient’s folders, treatment cards and clinic registers. Level of significant was set at 5% confidence level. Results: The prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and TB/HIV co-infection were 85.7% and 14.3% respectively. The age group 20-39 years had the highest prevalence rate of 51.8% for PTB and 72.2% for TB/HIV co-infection.. Students, traders and civil servants had the highest occupational prevalence of 29.0%, 27.7%, 18.6% respectively for PTB and 22.1%, 35.6% and 15.4% respectively for TB/HIV co-infection. The prevalence of PTB was higher among male patients (59.6%) than female counterparts (40.4%) but the prevalence of TB/HIV co-infection was higher in the females (53.8%) than the males (46.2%). The observed differences in the prevalence rates were statistically significant (p=0.000). Conclusion: There is a corresponding high prevalence of PTB and TB/HIV co-infections among patients attended to in the chest unit of the UNTH for the period 2003 through 2005. Regular and targeted health education intervention on TB and TB/HIV co-infection is recommended for these patients in the future.

Key Words: TB, TB/HIV, prevalence, UNTH