Norovirus infection among HIV-infected patients in Abuja, Nigeria: impact of combination antiretroviral therapy status

Background Norovirus is now recognized to be major cause of gastroenteritis worldwide, with significantly higher disease burden among immunocompromised patients. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Norovirus among HIV-infected patients and to evaluate the impact of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) status on Norovirus prevalence in a sub-urban area of Abuja, Nigeria.Methods This study included a total of Two hundred and fifteen subjects (85 cART-naive and 130 cART-exposed) HIV-infected patients. Age range of study participants was 18 to 60 years. Faecal specimens where collected in screw capped containers and analyzed for Norovirus using Accupower Norovirus real-time PCR Test kit. CD4 + cell count was determined using flow cytometry.Results The prevalence of Norovirus among cART-naive HIV-infected patients was 10.6%. Age and gender was not associated with norovirus infection. cART -naive HIV-infected patients with CD4 + cell count < 200 was significantly more infected with Norovirus as compared to those with CD4 + count = 200 (OR: 28.000, 95% CI 3.2237, 243.2007, P = 0.0025). Norovirus was also found to be significantly higher in cART-naive HIV-infected patients than amongst cART-exposed counterparts (OR: 6.882, 95% CI: 1.4514, 32.6343, P = 0.015).Conclusions The prevalence of Norovirus among cART-naive HIV-infected patients was high; and was significantly higher in subjects with low CD4 + counts. Screening for Norovirus among cART-naive HIV-infected patients is however emphasized to allow for effective Norovirus disease management.