| Summary: | Background & objectives: A prospective study on 72 HIV infected and 33 HIV negative individualsundergoing malaria treatment with dihydroartemisinin (Cotecxin) was undertaken to compare CD4cells count, viral load and parasite density at two time-points, a baseline visit and a 9-day posttreatmentvisit.Methods: CD4 count and viral load of the subjects were estimated using Dynabeads T4–T8Quantification Protocol (Dyneal Biotech, Norway) and Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor Test respectively(Roche, United Kingdom).Results: There was a significant decrease in CD4 count at 9-day post-treatment when compared withbaseline value (p <0.05) in HIV infected individuals with CD4 <200 cells/μl. Also, the 9-day posttreatmentviral load value was statistically higher than the baseline value (p <0.05). In HIV positivepatients with CD4 > 200 cells/μl, a marked significant increase was obtained when the mean viral loadat baseline was compared to the 9-day post-treatment visit value (p <0.05). The mean parasite densityin HIV positive subjects was statistically higher when compared to that of HIV negative individualsat baseline and 9-day post-treatment (p <0.05).Interpretation & conclusion: The study as such may not confirm the impact of malaria infection onprogression to AIDS, incorporating effective malaria control in HIV management programmes mayimprove tremendously the quality of life of HIV infected individuals.
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