Sero-prevalence of Cytomegalovirus and Toxoplasma Infections among Newly Diagnosed HIV Patients in Iran; Assessing the Correlation with CD4+ Cell Counts

Background and Objective: Opportunistic infections are the leading cause of death among patients subjected to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The aim of this study was to compare the seroprevalence of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and toxoplasmosis infection in newly diagnosed HIV infected patients with healthy controls and it’s correlation with CD4+ cell counts (CD4+). Materials and Methods: A case controlled study was carried out to investigate CMV and toxoplasmosis serology among newly diagnosed HIV infected patients referred to University affiliated hospital in Tehran and compared them to healthy subjects as control. A total of 100 HIV positive patients and 100 healthy controls were recruited. Clinical characteristics and CD4+ cell counts were evaluated. The statistical package SPSS 17 for windows was used for analysis. Results: Patients with HIV infection had a significantly higher positive serology for CMV than healthy controls (100% vs. 93% p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between HIV positive and HIV negative patients in terms of toxoplasmosis serology. There was no significant difference between males and females with respect to CMV or toxoplasmosis serology. Conclusion: CMV and toxoplasmosis infection are highly prevalent among HIV infected patients and also healthy controls, with a higher seropositive rate of CMV in HIV cases.