Opportunistic parasitic infections in immunocompromised hosts

Parasitological and serological examination was done for 111 cases with various types of malignancies under immunosuppressive therapy and another 20 apparently healthy individuals as a control group to determine the prevalence of opportunistic parasitic infections among immunocompromised patients. Single examination showed that 74 (66.7%) harboured infection with different parasites: Strongyloides stercoralis infection was found in 4 (3.64%) cases; 3 cases (2.7%) had Pneumocystis carinii infection. No Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected; IFAT for toxoplasmosis was positive in 40 cases (36%) with titres ranging from 1/16 - 1/256 but IFAT-IgM was negative. The control group did not show any parasitic infection except that IFAT was positive in 4 out of 20 (20%) with titres ranging from 1/16 to 1/128 but IFAT-IgM was also negative. Although Toxoplasma infection was higher among patients the difference was insignificant. Generally the percentages recorded for the different parasites were found to be within the expected prevalence. One case report of concomitant opportunistic Pneumonocytis and Toxoplasma infection is reviewed.