Presentation of AIDS in Nepal

Abstract

This article presents symptomatic HIV infection/AIDS and mortality due to AIDS in Nepal. The frequently affected age group is 20-29 years and the number of males predominates over females. The pattern of presentation of AIDS in the Nepali context is also discussed. Tuberculosis of lungs is the important opportunistic infection in HIV positive persons, contributing to 67.8% of the total AIDS cases. Non-specific symptoms like weight loss (98.4%), fever (95.4%) and diarrhoea (78.7%) contribute to majority of the presentations. Symptoms like vaginal discharge in women (52.2%), persistent lymphadenopathy (24.6%) and oral thrush (28.4%) are also important contributors. The mean age at death is 28.8 years.