search
for
 About Bioline  All Journals  Testimonials  Membership  News


African Health Sciences
Makerere University Medical School
ISSN: 1680-6905
EISSN: 1680-6905
Vol. 12, No. 3, 2012, pp. 312-317
Bioline Code: hs12050
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge

African Health Sciences, Vol. 12, No. 3, 2012, pp. 312-317

 en Seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C infection among the HIV-positive population in Abuja, Nigeria
Tremeau-Bravard, A; Ogbukagu, IC; Ticao, CJ & Abubakar, JJ

Abstract


Background: In Nigeria, it is estimated that 3.6% of the population were living with Human immunodeficiency virus in 2009, and the country had the world’s second highest number of HIV/AIDS related deaths after South Africa. Viral hepatitis is also a major public health concern as hepatitis B virus (HBV) afflicts an estimated 350 million people, and hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects 150 million people worldwide.
Objectives: We conducted a retrospective study of HBV and HCV seroprevalence among Nigerian population coming to our clinic in Abuja and receiving HIV/AIDS treatment.
Methods: In this cohort study, we collected medical data from 443 HIV-positive patients between September 2010 and May 2011. Standard enzyme immunoassays were used to determine the serological prevalence of hepatitis B (HBsAg) and C (anti-HCV antibody) among HIV-positive individuals.
Results: Among the HIV/AIDS positive individuals, we found that 35 patients were infected with hepatitis B virus (7.9%), 10 with hepatitis C virus (2.3%) and 3 with both hepatitis B and C viruses (0.7%). The overall hepatitis-HIV prevalence is 10.8%. The majority of the population infected was under 39 years of age (55%) and the same proportion of males and females was observed in all the studied categories (HIV, HIV + hepatitis B and/or C). Remarkably, an overall lower CD4 count was seen in the co-infected population (205 cells/μl versus 243 cells/μl), with the lowest seen for the triply infected individuals (97 cells/μl).
Conclusions: Our findings underscore the importance of screening for hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses in the HIVinfected population in developing countries, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where the epidemics are still growing.

Keywords
Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus, cohort study, Nigeria

 
© Copyright 2012 - African Health Sciences

Home Faq Resources Email Bioline
© Bioline International, 1989 - 2024, Site last up-dated on 01-Sep-2022.
Site created and maintained by the Reference Center on Environmental Information, CRIA, Brazil
System hosted by the Google Cloud Platform, GCP, Brazil