SEROPREVALENCE OF HSV, HBsAg & HCV IN STD CLINIC ATTENDEES OF A TERTIARY CARE STATE HEADQUARTERS HOSPITAL

Abstract

BACKGROUNDSexual activity in humans is meant for both procreative and recreational purposes. However, with the discovery of HIV/AIDS in 1981, concerns developed worldwide over unprotected sex. The unprotected sexual activity is contributing for transmission of symptomatic and asymptomatic STIs such as HIV, HBsAg and HCV.The aim is to study seroprevalence of HBsAg, HSV & anti-HCV antibodies in STD clinic attendees of Osmania Medical College/ Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad. MATERIALS AND METHODSIt is a descriptive study (observational study) conducted from January 2015 -December 2015 at STD Clinic OPD. A total of 3,583 patients who attended the STD Clinic during the above period were studied and patients having direct or indirect risk factors were serotested for the 3 viral infections after inclusion and exclusion criteria with informed consent. A 5 mL of venous blood is collected and the separated serum is tested for HSV 1&2, HBsAg and Anti-HCV antibodies by using ELISA kits. It is ensured that the test kits used have >95% sensitivity and specificity. Settings & Design-All eligible patients attending STD Clinic, Dept. of DVL, Osmania Medical College/Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad were included in the study after inclusion and exclusion criteria with informed consent. A consecutive sampling methodology with zero intervals is followed. A percentage analysis method is used to derive the conclusions. RESULTSA total of 473 cases are found to be seropositives out of the 3,583 STD clinic attendees for either of 3 STIs showing a seroprevalence of 13.20%, in which male seroprevalence is 13.56% (258 cases) and female seroprevalence is 12.80% (215 cases).In the studied population of 3583, 412 cases were seropositives for HSV Antibodies with seroprevalence of 11.5%, 39 were HBsAg Antibodies positive with seroprevalence of 1.09% and 22 cases were positive for HCV antibodies with seroprevalence of 0.61%. The seropositivity in males and females respectively for HSV is 11.56% and 11.43%; for HBsAg is 1.26% and 0.89%; for HCV is 0.74% and 0.48%. The illiterates (376 of 473=79.49%) and people of low socioeconomic status (371 of 473=78%) are more affected. While 234 of 258 men are having either Premarital, Extramarital or combination accounting to 90.70%, 176 of 215 (81.86%) women are confined to marital sex. CONCLUSIONThe awareness on STIs needs to be well informed before the start of the sexual activity by incorporating the STI/RTI education in school and college curriculum, through IEC activities like mass media campaigns, print & electronic media, by using local cultural festivals, gatherings and through marriage institutions. The at-risk populations such as Sex workers, MSM & IDUs should be covered through specific targeted interventions by utilising NGOs, local bodies and associations.