Anti-HCV antibody among newly diagnosed HIV patients in Ughelli, a suburban area of Delta State Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) share common routes of infection and as such, co-infection is expected. Co-infection of the two viruses is of great medical importance as it determines the effect of drugs used for treatment at various stages. Objective: This interplay between HIV and HCV sets the tone for the objective of this study which is to ascertain the seroprevalence of HCV among newly diagnosed HIV patients in Ughelli, a suburban area of Delta State, Nigeria. Methods: A total of 200 newly diagnosed HIV-positive patients were recruited for this study. Each of the sera was tested for anti-HCV antibody using SWE-life HCV ultra rapid test strip. Appropriate questionnaires were used to ascertain other important information which include social behaviour such as whether the patients were MSM (males), IDU, tattoo and/or have received blood transfusion in the past. Results: The prevalence of HCV among the study population was determined to be 15.0%. A higher seroprevalence was observed among females (16.5%) than in males (13.0%). A higher seroprevalence was also observed among age groups >26 years (16.0%) than in age-groups 14-25 years (13.0%) and 2-13 years (0.0%). Of the 7 patients with tattoos, 1(14.3%) tested positive for HCV compared to 29(15.0%) with no tattoos. We found no significant correlation with transfusion, intravenous drug use (IDU), men that have sex with men (MSM), tattooing and the seroprevalence of HCV. However, significant correlation existed with age, sex and HCV prevalence. Conclusion: This study reports a 15.0% seroprevalence of HCV among newly diagnosed HIV patients and that is alarmingly well above several other studies done in the past in Nigeria and other countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Planned prevention, screening, and treatment are needed to reduce further transmission and morbidity. Future studies involving HCV-RNA assays are needed.

Hepatitis C prevalence in HIV-infected heterosexual men and men who have sex with men

“…In one of the studies there was no significant correlation between injected drug use and HCV infection. [13] This possibly suggests that HIV poses a signficant risk for HCV acquisition regardless of gender. In this cohort, it is unclear whether the women were asked about their sexual risks, or whether they were screened for other sexually transmitted infections.…”

“…Two studies in Nigeria, based on hepatitis C antibody seroprevalence in different centres, 3 years apart and performed in heterogeneous groups of HIV-positive cohorts, demonstrated even higher seroprevalence rates of 10.8% and 15%, respectively. [12,13] Interestingly, more women tested HCV antibodypositive. In one of the studies there was no significant correlation between injected drug use and HCV infection.…”

Increased liver injury in patients with chronic hepatitis and IgG directed against hepatitis E virus

“…The second mechanism could be the generation of an auto-immune response directed against some liver-specific proteins subsequently to acute Type-E hepatitis on chronic type B or C hepatitis. It is well known that many different viral infections are the cause of auto-immune reactions with pathological consequences (Bach, 2005[5]; Newton et al, 2015[17]).…”

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and C Viruses, and HIV among Antenatal Pregnant Women in Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria

“…Many risk factors have been documented to be associated with single, double and triple co-infection of these viruses [1,5,7,9]. The natural causes of HBV and HCV infections show variability among individuals [11] and all three viruses have been identified to share common routes of transmission [7,11,12]. Some of the factors that predispose an individual to infection with these viruses are: transfusion of infected blood sample, tattooing, intravenous drug use, hemodialysis and abortion [1,7,11,12].…”

“…The natural causes of HBV and HCV infections show variability among individuals [11] and all three viruses have been identified to share common routes of transmission [7,11,12]. Some of the factors that predispose an individual to infection with these viruses are: transfusion of infected blood sample, tattooing, intravenous drug use, hemodialysis and abortion [1,7,11,12]. Others are unprotected sex, infants born by HBV, HCV and HIV infected mothers, reuse of nondisposable needle without sterilization and frequent dental procedures [4,5,11].…”