Prevalence of Histoplasmosis in HIV + Patients with a Rapid Diagnostic Test in West Indies

Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum histoplasmosis is the leading cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and death in French Guiana and probably in the Amazon. The diagnosis of this disease requires invasives procedures, laboratory performance, and delays up to several weeks. The Mycotic Diseases Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has established a rapid, sensitive and specific ELISA test for blood and urine samples that looks interesting in endemic areas, particularly in developing countries. The study aims to measure the proportion of HIV-infected patients hospitalized or in outpatient awaiting hospitalization for a suspicion of infectious syndrome whose serum and/or urinary antigen detection tests are positive for Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum.