COMPARISON AND PCR CONFIRMATION OF ENTERIC PROTOZOAL ISOLATES IN AIDS PATIENTS- OPTIMIZING DIAGNOSTIC APPROACH IN DIFFERENT RESOURCE SETTINGS

LEKHA TULI¹*, SUJEET RAI², D.K. SINGH³, T.M. MOHAPATRA⁴, A.K. GULATI^5
1Department of Microbiology, Mahamaya Rajkiya Allopathic Medical College, Saddarpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, 224227, India
²Department of Anaesthesia, Mahamaya Rajkiya Allopathic Medical College, Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India
³Department of Surgical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
⁴Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
⁵Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
* Corresponding Author : tuli_lekha@rediffmail.com

Received : 02-02-2016     Accepted : 06-02-2016     Published : 28-02-2016
Volume : 8     Issue : 2       Pages : 723 - 727
Int J Microbiol Res 8.2 (2016):723-727

Keywords : AIDS, Diarrhea, Sensitivity, PCR, Analytical Hierarchy Process
Academic Editor : Sherifa Mostafa M. Sabra, Dr Ashoka Mahapatra, Dr Rasa Sheini Mehrabzadeh, Dr Arunava Kali, Dr Jaspal Kaur
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : We would like to thank Dr. Shyam Sundar and Dr. Gajendra Singh for their guidance, Dr. Joan Shields for providing with the control strains of the protozoa and Dr. Madhu Yashpal for providing assistance in Electron Microscopy.
Author Contribution : None declared

Opportunistic infections in AIDS patients are a harbinger of death. In this study presence of enteric protozoa (Cryptosporidium parvum, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Enterocytozoon bienuesi) as causative agents of diarrhea in HIV/AIDS patients were detected from their fecal samples. The conventional staining methods used for identification which had been employed earlier were compared with PCR results and different attributes (sensitivity, cost, hands on time, ease of use and batch testing) while performing investigations in the different set ups viz. rural, urban government, urban private and hospital cum research/referral centers were prioritized. Testing the samples by PCR gave 100% sensitivity and specificity. Since PCR is costly, a combination of at least two methods be employed in resource limited settings to avoid missing any parasite. This is the first study from India wherein a PCR was employed to confirm the presence of all the three above mentioned protozoa and application of Analytical Hierarchy Process was done.