Co-infection of HIV, HBsAg and HCV Among Pregnant Women of African Descent

Abstract

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis C virus and Hepatitis B virus (HBV) are blood borne pathogens that can be transmitted through sexual contact, vertical transmission, and could pose great danger in healthcare delivery. Prevalence of co-infection of HIV, HBsAg and HCV was determined in pregnant women of African descent. One hundred (100) pregnant women of African descent were used for the study having obtained their consent and approval by the Research and Ethics committee. The screening and confirmatory tests were done using double check gold and Immunocomb II respectively while HBsAg and HCV were determined with one step test strip. Out of the one hundred (100) subjects studied, the prevalence rate was noted as 15%, 6% and 2% for HIV, HBsAg and HCV respectively. Co-infection of HIV and HBsAg was more prevalent, followed by co-infection of HIV and HCV and lastly co-infection of HBsAg and HCV. The age group of 25-29 years tested positive to HIV, HBsAg and HCV. All other age groups tested positive to HIV and either HBsAg or HCV while age group of 20-24 years tested positive to only HIV and negative to both HBsAg and HCV. Though these rates might be lower compared to previous studies, counseling and enlightenment campaigns should be sustained especially on the mode of transmission, prevention and management of these diseases. Government should ensure that compulsory screening for pregnant women is available and affordable at all levels.

Epidemiologic Survey of HBV, HCV and HIV Infections in a Pregnant Women Population in Central Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Co-infection with HBV and HIV is commonly observed because both viruses have similar mode of transmission like multiple sexual partners, use of unsterilized sharp objects, blood transmission and vertical transmission from mother to fetus among others [41]. The 1.5% prevalence of HBV/HIV overlapping infection in this study is lower than the 2.0% reported in Rivers State [1], 2.7% in Benue State [42] and 2.7% in Nasarawa State [43]. However, lower prevalence of 0.3%, 0.5% and 1.1% were reported in Yenagoa, Ebonyi and Ibadan respectively [44][45][46].…”

“…Infections with HBV, HCV and HIV among pregnant women are serious health concerns since their unborn children are also at risk [1]. In this current study, out of the 400 pregnant women screened, 22 (5.5%), 12 (3.0) and 14 (3.5%) were positive for HBV, HCV and HIV, respectively.…”

“…For instance, it was 0.4% in Calabar [48], 1.5% in Lagos [11] and 1.6% in Ibadan [49]. In fact, HCV/HIV co-infection was not recorded in recent studies conducted by Ajugwo, et al [1] and Oshun and Odeghe [16] in Rivers and Lagos States respectively. However, higher prevalence of 4.9% in Texas, USA [13] and 12.3% in Europe [4] were reported and these higher prevalence rates were attributed to intravenous drugs usage in those study populations.…”

“…Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are blood abided viruses which can be transmitted from mother to child and they constitute major health issues, with particularly high prevalence among African pregnant women [1][2][3]. The proportion of these viral infections among individuals is mostly hinged on particular predisposing reasons like socio-economic status and environmental conditions.…”

“…Former researches carried out in Western regions have depicts that prolonged liver disease, particularly due to HBV was the 5 th prominent reason of death in pregnant women infected with HIV [4,13]. In a related hospital-based research, the medical evaluation of patients with HBV infection reported that most of the participants (68%) are asymptomatic while a small number of the participants (32%) showed symptoms like; jaundice, nausea, abdominal pain, body ache among others [1,12].…”