Tropical Diseases Screening in Immigrant Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Spain

Abstract

Abstract. Latent parasitic infections can reactivate because of immunosuppression. We conducted a prospective observational study of all human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected immigrants who visited the Infectious Diseases Department of the Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain, during June 2010-May 2011. Screening of the most prevalent tropical diseases (intestinal parasitosis, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, malaria, schistosomiasis, and strongyloidiasis) was performed according to geographic origin. A total of 190 patients were included: 141 (74.2%) from Latin America, 41 (21.6%) from sub-Saharan Africa, and 8 (4.2%) from northern Africa. Overall, 36.8% (70 of 190) of the patients had at least one positive result for any parasitic disease: 5 patients with positive Trypanosoma cruzi serology, 11 patients with positive Schistosoma mansoni serology, 35 patients with positive Strongyloides stercoralis serology, 7 patients with positive Leishmania infantum serology, intestinal parasitosis were detected in 37 patients, malaria was diagnosed in one symptomatic patient. We propose a screening and management strategy of latent parasitic infections in immigrant patients infected with HIV.

Screening for Imported Diseases in an Immigrant Population: Experience from a Teaching Hospital in Barcelona, Spain

“…Moreover, it is important to note that immigrant patients may have other infections that are prevalent in their countries of origin that can be reactivated or made manifest as severe forms because of the potential immunosuppression of HIV, such as Strongyloides stercoralis hyperinfection syndrome or myocarditis and meningoencephalitis caused by T. cruzi. 13 In our study, all patients diagnosed with HIV infection were asymptomatic and did not have opportunistic infections.…”

Usefulness of Strongyloides stercoralis Serology in the Management of Patients with Eosinophilia

“…16 Nevertheless, S. stercoralis serology has been proposed in different studies performed in non-endemic areas to be used as a screening test in immigrant HIV-infected patients. 17,18 In our study population, there was no difference in the percentage of patients with eosinophilia who presented a positive serology between HIV-infected patients and non-HIV-infected patients.…”

Strongyloidiasis screening in migrants living in Spain: systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Four studies focused on patients with immunosuppression: three on HIV‐infected patients and one on patients with oncohematological malignancies . Surprisingly, we found no more studies on populations at risk of developing a severe strongyloidiasis, such as patients receiving corticosteroid therapy or organ transplantation .…”