Prevalence of Bacteremia among the HIV and Non HIV Infected Patients Visiting Alupe Sub Hospital, Alupe Division of Teso South Sub-County, Busia County, Kenya between 2017 and 2019

Abstract

Background: Bacteremia is the presence of viable bacteria in circulating blood. This is common in HIV patients, leading to a significant public health problem worldwide. It is concomitant with upraising cases of antibiotic resistance that results in high morbidity rates leading to increased hospital visits and high mortality rates. Gram-negative bacteria which produce extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) are becoming more common and pathogenic in this group of people. Genes responsible for resistance are well-known to spread among various microorganisms. By employing a case-control study design, this study determined prevalence of bacteremia in Salmonella ssp, Klebsiella ssp, and Escherichia coli in HIV positive and HIV negative patients attending Alupe subcounty hospital. Methods: A total of 113 HIV positive and 133 HIV negative patients were sampled purposively grounded on Lameshow sample size determination formula. Consent was sought from the study participants followed by questionnaire administration. Blood (10 ml) was collected from each enrolled patient and later subjected to full haemogram (1 ml), Salmonella Antigen test (1 ml) and general bacterial isolation (8 ml). Results: HIV positive patients experienced significantly different bacterial diseases infection from those who were HIV negative (χ2 = 27.684, P = 0.024). In the current study, total prevalence of Salmonella spp. among HIV positive and HIV negative patients was 11.1%, Klebsiella spp., 18.52%, Staphylococcus spp., 48.15%, Shigella spp 7.4% while that of Brucella spp., Neisseria gonorrhea, Aeromonas carviae and Plesomonas shigelloids each was 3.7%. Escherichia coli was not isolated from any of the blood samples collected from the study participants. Results were made available to policy makers for use in coming up with cognizant measures of prevention of bacteremia, hence a healthy society.