Gene Xpert MTB/RIF Assay of Pulmonary Tuberculosis and HIV Co-Infection at a Central TB Referral Centre in Anambra State, Nigeria

Background: The use of Gene Xpert MTB/RIF for direct molecular detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and Rifampicin Resistance Tuberculosis (TB) has dramatically improved the diagnosis of tuberculosis. This study was aimed at using Gene Xpert to determine the prevalence of MTB/ Rifampicin-resistant strains and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/MTB co-infections. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out between 2018 and 2022, using 2,579 patient samples analyzed for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance by GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay. HIV screening was carried out using the National Approved Serial Algorithm for HIV screening with Alere Determine and Uni-Gold kits for screening and confirmation, respectively. Results: Among the 207 positive TB patients, 31(4.7%) were co-infected with HIV/AIDS. Highest TB infection (38.6%) was detected among the age group 31-45 while the least infection rate was recorded among 0-15 and 61 > (2.4% and11.1%, respectively). There was no significant difference (P= .500) between gender in the TB prevalence. The prevalence rates of TB positive cases showed increasing rates from 2018 to 2022, with a decline in 2020. Rifampicin resistant strain of MTB and Rif -indeterminate were detected in 5(2.4%) samples each. The prevalence rates of TB and HIV within the years did not vary directly. Conclusions: The prevalence of MTB/Rif was effectively determined using the GeneXpert MTB/RIF. However, the limitations of this method against the conventional cultural technique involved the use of high-concentration specimens. Further studies would require the inclusion of conventional assay method to determine the multi-resistant TB strains.