Abstract
Sixty-six sera from HIV-1-seropositive adult African subjects and 49 sera from HIV-seronegative age and sex matched healthy African controls living in Bangui, Central African Republic, were screened forCoxiella burnetii antibody by an indirect immunofluorescent antibody test. 16.7 % of HIV-infected patients and 16.3 % of the HIV-negative controls had positive IgG titres, with no significant difference between the two groups. Two of the seven HIV-infected patients seropositive forCoxiella burnetii for whom clinical data was available had a medical history compatible with symptomatic Q fever. These findings indicate that there is a high degree of exposure toCoxiella burnetii infection in Bangui. In individuals co-infected with HIV andCoxiella burnetii, cellular immunosuppression could favour symptomatic Q fever. Physicians should be aware of the possibility of symptomaticCoxiella burnetii infection among HIV-infected people, particularly in endemic regions for both infections such as in sub-saharan Africa.
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Bélec, L., Grésenguet, G., Ekala, M.T. et al. Coxiella burnetii infection among subjects infected with HIV type 1 in the Central African Republic. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 12, 775–778 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02098468
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02098468