AIDS diarrhea and antiretroviral drug concentrations: a matched-pair cohort study in Port au Prince, Haiti.

Diarrhea in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) may cause malabsorption of medications and failure of antiretroviral therapy (ART). We prospectively evaluated human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1)-infected patients with and without chronic diarrhea initiating ART in Haiti. We report mean plasma antiretroviral concentrations at 2 and 4 weeks.

[Human cryptosporidiosis and Cryptosporidium spp. in Haiti].

Contamination by water-born infectious diseases is closely linked to urban slums conditions such as overcrowding and high level of faecal pollution by animal and human excreta. In this environment, cryptosporidiosis is a major cause of acute diarrhoea in children and chronic persistent diarrhoea in AIDS patients, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality in both populations. The aims of this study conducted in Port-au-Prince, Haiti were to: (i) determine the frequency of Cryptosporidium infection in two populations of patients with diarrhoea, children and AIDS patients, and the existence of Cryptosporidium carriage in healthy adults living in close contact with them; (ii) identify by molecular genotyping the Cryptosporidium species involved; and (iii) evaluate the viability of Cryptosporidium oocysts isolated from human stools.