Document Type
Journal Article
Publisher
Public Library of Science
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
Abstract
Background
The study assessed the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection paradigm among the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients attending a tertiary hospital in Ghana. Also, the immunological and virological characterisation of these viruses, prior to antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation was investigated.
Method
A total of 400 HIV infected (HIV type-1) treatment naïve subjects ≥18 years were enrolled and tested for HBsAg and anti-HCV. Hepatitis B virus serological profile was performed on samples that were HBV positive. CD4+ T-cell count and HIV-1 RNA viral loads were determined using BD FacsCalibur analyzer (USA) and COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan Analyzer (USA) respectively.
Results
The overall prevalence of HBV/HCV co-infection among the HIV-1 patients was 18.0%. The prevalence of HIV-HBV and HIV-HCV co-infections were 12.5% and 5.5% respectively. The prevalence of active viral hepatitis (HBeAg-positive) among HIV-HBV co-infected patients was 40%. None of the patients had anti-HBc IgM. HIV-HBV co-infection was associated with lower CD4+ T-cell count as well as higher HIV-1 viral load compared to both HIV mono- infection and HIV-HCV co- infection (pp = 0.035], male gender [aOR = 2.74(1.15–6.51); p = 0.023], primary education [aOR = 9.60(1.21–76.08); p = 0.032], secondary education [aOR = 14.67(1.82–118.08); p = 0.012] and being single [aOR = 2.88(1.12–7.39); p = 0.028] were independent risk factors of HIV-HBV co-infections but not HIV-HCV co-infections.
Conclusion
The present study highlights the predominance of HBV exposure among the HIV infected patients in Ghana. HBV coinfection was associated with severe immunosuppression and higher HIV-1 viral load.
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0215377
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Originally published as: Boateng, R., Mutocheluh, M., Dompreh, A., Obiri-Yeboah, D., Anto, E. O., Owusu, M., & Narkwa, P. W. (2019). Sero-prevalence of Hepatitis B and C viral co-infections among HIV-1 infected ART-naïve individuals in Kumasi, Ghana. PLOS ONE, 14(4), Article e0215377. Original publication available here