Prevalence of Opportunistic Pathogens Pneumocystis jiroveci and Tubercle Bacilli in HIV-Infected Patients with Respiratory Infections in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Tuberculosis (TB) and pneumocystosis are opportunistic diseases associated with HIV/AIDS infection. In Cameroon, although TB HIV-associated diseases are known, limited one are available for pneumocystosis and bacteria. The study was done from January 2017 to January 2018 in Yaounde on HIV-positive and -negative subjects with respiratory tract infections (RTIs). The clinical samples were subjected to bacterial culture and multiplex RT-PCR targeting 10 bacteria and Pneumocystis jirovecii (PCP). Specimens from suspected TB patients were subjected to microscopy, culture and/or GeneXpert analysis.. A total of 211 participants with RTIs including 80 HIV-infected patients (37.9%) were enrolled. The median age of the study population was 42.8 years with a male to female sex ratio of 1.43. The median duration of clinical signs before the diagnosis was 30 days and the two most reported clinical symptoms were cough (94.8%) and dyspnea (89.1%). The frequency of non-tuberculous bacterial growth was 19.9% and there was no difference between HIV-positive and -negative patients. The overall detection rate of TB bacilli was 17.1% and was higher in HIV-positive subjects (25%) compared to HIV-negative subjects (12.2%) (p = 0.023). PCP was detected in only 8.8% of HIV-positive patients. These results suggest positive impact of PCP prophylaxis treatment. Diagnosis of TB and PCP should be continuously reinforced for better outcomes.