HIV, malaria parasites, and acute febrile episodes in Ugandan adults: a case-control study

In sub-Saharan Africa, co-infection with HIV and malaria is probably very common. Although an interaction between the two infections is biologically plausible, it has not been investigated thoroughly.

To evaluate the association firstly between co-infection with HIV and malaria parasites and the occurrence of acute fever, and secondly between HIV infection and clinical malaria, defined as the presence of acute fever and malaria parasites.

A hospital-based case-control study was conducted in Gulu District (northern Uganda), an area endemic for malaria and with a high HIV prevalence. HIV testing and malaria parasite quantification were performed on 167 consecutive adult out-patients with acute fever and no signs or symptoms of localized infection, and on 134 consecutive adult in-patients without fever who were admitted for non-HIV-related trauma or elective surgery.

No significant association with acute fever was observed for single infection with either malaria parasites [adjusted odds ratio (AOR), 1.75; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.73-4.21] or HIV (AOR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.51-2.03), whereas a significant association was observed for co-infection (AOR, 9.75; 95% CI, 1.19-80.00). An association was found between HIV infection and clinical malaria (AOR, 2.34; 95% CI, 0.89-6.17); the association became statistically significant when the definition of clinical malaria included a cut-off for parasite density (50th percentile; i.e., 586 parasites/microl; AOR, 3.61; 95% CI, 1.04-12.52).

Despite the limited statistical power, the results of our study show an association between HIV infection and clinical malaria; if confirmed, this finding could be important for public health in sub-Saharan Africa.