Latent infection in HIV-positive refugees and other immigrants in Australia

Gurry, Greta A; Dendle, Claire; Woolley, Ian J

doi:10.5694/mja14.01636

Topics

To the Editor: Refugees and other immigrants may carry latent infections not endemic to Australia. Immunocompromised people, including those living with HIV, are at particular risk of reactivation of such infections.1 Screening for schistosomiasis and strongyloidiasis in patients with HIV is not currently recommended by Australian guidelines2 or the United States guidelines that they reference;3 however, it is recommended by those of the United Kingdom.4

1 Monash University, Melbourne, VIC.
2 Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne, VIC.

Correspondence: ian.woolley@monash.edu

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

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2. Australasian Society for HIV Medicine Sub-Committee for Guidance on HIV Management in Australia. Antiretroviral guidelines: US DHHS guidelines with Australian commentary. Sydney: ASHM, 2013. http://arv.ashm.org.au/arv-guidelines/introduction-to-the-australian-commentary (accessed May 2014).
3. Panel on Opportunistic Infections in HIV-Infected Adults and Adolescents. Guidelines for the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections in HIV-infected adults and adolescents: recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/lvguidelines/adult_oi.pdf (accessed Feb 2015).
4. Asboe D, Aitken C, Boffito M, et al. British HIV Association guidelines for the routine investigation and monitoring of adult HIV-1-infected individuals 2011. HIV Med 2011; 13: 1-44.
5. World Health Organization. Schistosomiasis progress report 2001–2011 and strategic plan 2012–2020. Geneva: WHO, 2013.
6. Schär F, Trostdorf U, Giardina F, et al. Strongyloides stercoralis: global distribution and risk factors. PLOS Negl Trop Dis 2013; 7: e2288.

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