Abstract
BackgroundAntiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly decreased HIV/AIDS-related morbidity and mortality. However, globally, many people living with HIV die from non-AIDS related illnesses including liver diseases which occur partly due to co-infection with HBV and or HCV. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV among HIV infected individuals receiving care from three different hospitals in the Central Region of Ghana.MethodsThis research was a case-case study. The population consisted of ART naive persons (newly confirmed HIV cases) and those who had been on ART for more than 3 months (old cases). Each individual’s sociodemographic characteristics and clinical data including their HBV and HCV status were collected. Those who knew their HBV and HCV status and those who did not know their status were tested for circulating HBsAg and anti-HCV using rapid diagnostic test cassettes. Descriptive analysis was done, and the data presented as median with interquartile range, frequency and percentage. Fisher’s exact test and Pearson Chi-square (χ2) test were used to determine associations between categorical variables.ResultsOverall, 394 HIV individuals aged, 3 to 76 years old with a median age of 41 (IQR:34–49) participated in this study. Circulating HBsAg and anti-HCV were detected in 6.1% (24/394) and 0.5% (2/393) participants respectively with an overall seroprevalence of 6.6% (26/394). None of the participants was positive for both HBV and HCV infections. 92.1% (363/394) had no information on their HBV status while all the 394 participants did not know their HCV status during data collection. No significant association of HBV infection rate was found in all the socio-demographic data of the participants. But HBV infection rates were significantly higher in those at WHO clinical stages 2 and 3 (P = 0.004).ConclusionHBV and HCV were detected among the HIV-infected participants. Majority of the participants had no information on their HBV status and none of the participants had information on his or her HCV status. This study recommends the need for policy makers to provide free HBV and HCV screening for all HIV infected individuals for their effective management.
Highlights
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly decreased Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related morbidity and mortality
It is estimated that almost 37 million people are infected or living with HIV and approximately two thirds of the infected individuals live in Sub-Saharan Africa [1]; more than 250 million and 70 million people are estimated to be chronically infected with Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), respectively [2]
The sociodemographic and clinical data of the participants For the 394 HIV-infected patients who participated in this study, majority was recruited from Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH) 217(55.1%) followed by Saltpond Municipal Hospital (SMH) 149(37.8%) with the lowest proportion 28(7.1%) obtained from Cape Coast Metropolitan Hospital (CCMH) (Table 1)
Summary
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly decreased HIV/AIDS-related morbidity and mortality. Many people living with HIV die from non-AIDS related illnesses including liver diseases which occur partly due to co-infection with HBV and or HCV. In 2017, it was estimated that 940,000 deaths of the world’s HIV infected populations occurred due to AIDS-related illnesses [1]. The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly decreased HIV/AIDS-related morbidity and mortality [3]. A large number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) die from non-AIDS illnesses including liver diseases [4]. The increased morbidity and mortality associated with liver diseases among PLHIV is partly due to co-infection with HBV and or HCV [2] and partly due to non-infectious agents. The global prevalence of HBV and HCV among PLHIV is 7.4 and 1.0% respectively [2]
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