Aim: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and levels of salivary microorganisms in HIV-positive children, and their correlation to HIV status, oral lesions, and salivary IgA levels.
Design: Forty-two HIV-positive and 36 control children were clinically examined, had their saliva collected and processed for the microbiological analysis of 38 bacterial taxa by the checkerboard method, and salivary IgA quantification by ELISA.
Results: The majority of the species tested were more prevalent in control children than in the HIV group. Mean concentration of total salivary IgA was similar in both groups. High levels of Veillonella parvula were found in children with cheilitis and herpes. Tannerella forsythia, Eikenella Corrodens, and Propionibacterium acnes were prevalent in children with gingivitis, while Fusobacterium periodonticum, Streptococcus gordonii, and Streptococcus oralis were significantly more frequent in children with no oral lesions. Significant negative correlations between salivary IgA levels and Eubacterium nodatum and oral streptococci were observed (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: HIV-seropositive children presented significantly lower prevalence and levels of several bacterial species in saliva; HIV-positive children are able to mount a mucosal immune response; HIV-seropositive children under highly active antiretroviral therapy presented low prevalence of oral lesions.