Schistosomiasis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Men in Tanzania.

AbstractSchistosomiasis is a parasitic worm infection that affects over 260 million individuals worldwide. Women with schistosome infections have been demonstrated to have a 4-fold increase in the odds of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection compared with women without schistosome infections. A relationship between schistosome and HIV infections has not been clearly defined in men. Among 674 men aged 18-50 years living in rural Tanzania, we identified 429 (63.6%) who had a schistosome infection as defined by serum positivity for schistosome circulating anodic antigen, visualization of parasite eggs in urine or stool, or both. HIV infection was identified in 38 (5.6%). The odds of HIV infection was 1.3 [95% confidence interval = 0.6-2.5] (P = 0.53) among men with any schistosome infection (Schistosoma haematobium or Schistosoma mansoni), and it was 1.4 [0.6-3.3] (P = 0.43) among men with S. haematobium infection. Men with S. haematobium infection were significantly more likely to report the symptom of hemospermia than men without S. haematobium infection. We conclude that schistosome infections appear to have little to no association with HIV infection in men.