High Proportion of Isosporiasis among HIV-Infected Patients with Diarrhea in Southern India

Abstract

We investigated 245 diarrheal stool specimens from HIV-positive subjects between January 2003 and December 2006 to determine the etiological role of coproparasites. Parasitic etiology was observed in 91 (37.1%) cases. Isospora belli (26.1%) was the most common parasite followed by Entameba histolytica/dispar (3.3%), Cryptosporidium spp. (2.9%), Giardia intestinalis (1.6%), and Strongyloides stercoralis (1.2%). Interesting trends of significant increase in the number of cases of I. belli and decline in Cryptosporidium spp. were observed during the study period.