Publication:

Incidence of HIV among Herpes Zoster patients in Khartoum dermatology and venereal disease teaching hospital from April 2018 to April 2019

Background Herpes zoster (HZ) results from reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus and is associated with ageing and impaired cell-mediated immunity, including HIV infection. Aim was to estimate the proportion of HIV-positive patients among Sudanese adults presenting with HZ.

Methods A prospective, hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Khartoum Dermatology and Venereal Disease Teaching Hospital from April 2018 to April 2019. Sixty adults with clinically diagnosed HZ were enrolled and screened for HIV using rapid diagnostic kits. Demographic and clinical information was collected using a structured questionnaire.

Results The participants had a mean age of 37.1±9.9 years; 29 (48.3%) were male and 31 (51.7%) were female. Thirty-one participants (51.7%) were aged 25-45 years. The trunk was the most frequent rash site, occurring in 35 participants (58.3%). Twenty-five (41.7%) reported headache and/or fever during the prodromal period. All 60 participants tested negative for HIV. Prodromal symptoms were significantly associated with rash distribution (p<0.001).

Conclusions No HIV infection was detected in this sample of patients with HZ. The result should be interpreted cautiously because of the small sample size and single-centre design. Larger studies from several Sudanese regions are needed.