Prevalence of hepatitis B and C virus infections among HIV‑infected patients in a tertiary hospital in North‑Western Nigeria

Introduction: Infections from HIV, Hepatitis B and to some extent Hepatitis C viruses constitute a major public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, and there are evidences to suggest that there is faster progression of HIV in those co-infected with either HBV or HCV. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HBV and HCV infections among HIV-infected patients, and describe the socio-demographic features and correlates of HIV and HBV/HCV co-infected patients at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out among HIV-positive individuals seen at the adult HIV clinic of AKTH. Four Hundred and forty (440) consecutive HIV-positive adult patients who consented to the study were screened for markers of HBV and HCV using Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique. CD4 Count and serum ALT were also obtained from the recruited patients. Socio-demographic characteristics and Body Mass Index (BMI) were obtained. Differences and relationships between groups were determined using students t-test and Chi-square test where appropriate, and a P < 0.05 was regarded as significant. Results: Prevalence rates of Hepatitis B and C virus infections obtained were 12.3% and 1.6%, respectively. Individuals who were 40 years or younger were the most affected. HBV co-infection was more common among males than females (16.9% vs 9.2%, respectively, P = 0.0153). Mean serum ALT among participants with HIV alone was 31.6 International Units (IU), but was significantly higher (45.3 IU) for those with HIV/HBV co-infection, P = 0.048. Mean CD4 count for HIV/HBV co-infected participants (259.7 c/mm3) was significantly higher than that for participants with HIV alone (240.0 c/mm3), P = 0.0170 whereas the mean BMI was not significantly different between participants with HIV alone (21.3 kg/m2) versus HIV/HBV co-infected participants (22.2 kg/m2), P = 0.1385. Conclusion: Co-infection with hepatitis B virus is common among HIV-infected patients in our setting and this further reaffirms the need for routine baseline screening for this marker, as it is a major consideration in the initiation and choice of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Furthermore, those found to be negative should be immunized with HBV vaccine to improve the prognosis of their HIV status.