Prevalence of Oral Candida Carriage Rate among HIV Infected Asymptomatic and Non Infected Persons, their Antimycotic Sensitivity and its Association with CD4 Counts

HIV causes AIDS by depleting CD4 + T cells. This weakens the immune system and allow opportunistic infections (Hel et al., 2006). Oropharyngeal candidiasis, often the first sign of HIV infection, is the most prevalent fungal opportunistic infection in HIV infected individuals (Barr, 1992). Numerous oral manifestations have been described for HIV-infected patients and the most common are those resulting from fungal infections, specific & nonspecific bacterial infections, viral infections & neoplasms, and those of unknown etiology (Moreira et al., 2002).