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Objective To identify possible associations between selected micronutrient status indicators (serum ferritin, retinol, β-carotene, α-tocopherol, and the acute phase reactant α-1 antichymotrypsin) and infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or Wuchereria bancrofti, and to assess the effect of the antifilarial drug diethylcarbamazine (DEC) on the micronutrient status indicators in individuals positive for one or both of the two infections. Methods Serum concentrations of ferritin, retinol, β-carotene, α-tocopherol and the acute phase reactant α-1 antichymotrypsin were examined in 59 individuals with HIV, W. bancrofti infection, or both, in Tanga Region, Tanzania, before and 12 weeks after treatment with DEC. Results HIV infection, but not W. bancrofti infection, was associated with higher serum ferritin concentrations and lower β-carotene and α-tocopherol. Neither HIV infection nor W. bancrofti infection was associated with serum retinol. The four micronutrient status indicators and α-1 antichymotrypsin were generally lower at 12 weeks after treatment both in the DEC and the placebo groups. Conclusions The negative association between HIV infection and the antioxidant vitamins β-carotene and α-tocopherol may be due to infection-induced oxidative stress, whereas W. bancrofti infection seemed not to be associated with oxidative stress. The drop in antioxidant vitamin concentrations after treatment may be due to oxidative stress induced by HIV progression (HIV infected) and inflammation around dead adult worms and microfilariae ( W. bancrofti infected) rather than to an effect of DEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]