LEUCOCYTE COUNTS OF HIV INFECTED CHILDREN IN ABA METROPOLIS

¹Godwin U. Ndukwe,²Clement .K. Okpora,³Smart E Amala ^1&2Department of Human Anatomy, Abia State University Uturu, Abia State, Nigeria

³Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Rivers State University Port Harcourt Nigeria

E-mail:-Okpobrows2006@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the leucocyte counts of children infected with HIV in Aba Metropolis.  The study population was 242 subjects recruited from Abia State University Teaching Hospital Aba, Abia State.  They were made up of 121 children infected with HIV and 121 children not infected with HIV.  They were male and female children who visited the hospital for HIV screening test.  Those with HIV were the children that tested positive while those without HIV were the children that tested negative.  Their records were retrieved from the record section of the hospital.  Routine laboratory methods for the determination of white blood cell count, Differential count and CD4+ Cell Counts were used.  The result showed that the mean values for the parameters studied in both male and female children without HIV infection were higher than those of the children with HIV in all the age ranges, except the total white blood cell count that reverse were the case. For the CD4+ cell count, the mean values for the age range 5-9 years was the highest, followed by age range 1-4 years and lastly 10-14 years in both the male and female children. The study therefore concludes that the leucocytes counts in children without HIV infection were higher than those of the children with the infection and that this might be due to the fact that the virus attacks the cells thereby decreasing their number.

Keywords: Leucocytes, children, infection, human immunodeficiency, and Lymphocyte.