Evidence of Co and Triple Infections of Hepatitis B and C Amongst HIV Infected Pregnant Women in Buea, Cameroon

Abstract

Abstract:Little epidermiological data is available on the prevalence of HIV, Hepatitis B and C, Co-and or triple infection during pregnancy in Cameroon as well as many other resource limited settings. HIV and Hepatitis B and C are major public health concerns world wide. Our study aimed at assessing the seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and C amongst HIV infected pregnant women in Buea, located in the Southwest region of Cameroon. A Cross-sectional study on consented pregnant women were conducted from March 2015 to August 2015. HIV-1 infections were detected using the national HIV-1 test algorithms. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti-HBe and anti-Hepatitis C (anti-HCV) were detected using Enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISAs). Of the 1230 recruited pregnant women, 97/1230 (7.8%) (95% CI: 3.5, 29.0%) were confirmed HIV-1 positive. HIV/HBV co-infection were observed in 14/97 (14.4%) (95% CI: 39.8, 100%), whilst 11/97 (11.3 %; 95% CI: 27.5, 100%) were HIV/HCV co-infections. Two HIV-infected pregnant women (8/97(8.2%; 95% CI: 0.1, 17.2%)) were HIV/HBV/HCV triple-infected. Anti-HBc was detected in all HBV-infected pregnant women (14/14; (100.0%)) (95.0% CI: 39.8, 100.0%). Seropositivity for HIV-1 was higher (37%) amongst subjects aged between 32-37 years, whilst none was found above 40. From our results we conclude that Co-and triple infections of HIV, Hepatitis B and C were present amongst pregnant women in Buea. Epidemiological data generated from this study are limited due to the existence of triple infected. It will therefore serve as a guide to the government policies to reinforce screening, treatment and prevention strategies, through its Mother-to-Child-transmission (pMTCT) Programme nationwide.