Isolation and Immunological Detection of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis from HIV and Non-HIV Patients in Benue State, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND

Immunological techniques are important tools for tuberculosis epidemiology; although its use is underutilized in Nigeria. In this study, we report the epidemiological outlook of Mycobacterium tuberculosis among HIV patients in Benue State, Nigeria.

METHODS

Sputum samples were collected from 425 suspected TB patients from July 2016 to February 2018 and subjected to acid-fast microscopy, GeneXpert MTB/RIF, processed using NALC-NaOH and cultured on Lowenstein-Jensen media. The isolates obtained were identified by SD-Bioline® assay.

RESULTS

The prevalence of TB by acid-fast microscopy was 35(15.9%). The prevalence of TB by acid-fast bacilli was significantly (χ2 = 8.458; P = 0.003) highest among the 15-34 years age group (22.0%) compared with other age groups. TB prevalence was significantly (χ2 = 4.751; P = 0.029) higher among patients from rural areas than those from urban center (23.8% vs 14.1%). GeneXpert assay detected 64(15.1%) TB cases of which patients from rural areas had significantly (χ2 = 8.104; P = 0.017) higher prevalence of TB than patients from urban areas (23.8% vs 12.9%). The overall rifampicin resistance TB was 3.1%. Also, patients from rural areas had significantly (χ2 = 10.625; P = 0.005) higher rifampicin resistance compared with patient from urban areas (8.3% vs 1.3%). Of the 126(29.7%) mycobacterial isolates, 42(33.33%) were identified as MTBC and 84 (66.67%) as NTM by SD-Bioline® assay.

CONCLUSIONS

The study revealed that Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is still a major public health problem, with relatively high prevalence rate of rifampicin resistance among HIV positive patients. Further studies are needed for early detection and treatment intervention necessary for infection control.