Objective: To investigate the effect of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy on the level of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia in HIV-1 infected children.
Methods: Sixty-six HIV infected children had blood films prepared for malaria parasite identification and count. Mean parasite densities were compared across clinical stages and immunologic categories of disease and antiretroviral treatment status.
Results: Forty-five (68%) were less than 6 years old and 50 (75.7%) had advanced HIV disease. Twenty seven (41%) were on antiretroviral therapy. The prevalence of ASMP in the treated and untreated group was 44.4% and 15.4% respectively (p<0.01). The mean parasite density in the ARV treatment group was also significantly higher than in the untreated group (p=0.0071).
Conclusions: ARV therapy seems to be associated with higher rates of ASMP and higher mean parasite counts.