Sero-prevalence of Hepatitis B and C Co-infection among HIV Positive Individuals at a Tertiary Care Centre in North Delhi

Viral hepatitis is a major public health concern. Approximately 350 million people in the world are affected by Hepatitis B virus (HBV) while an estimated 150 million people are affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV) worldwide. Viral hepatitis contributes to be a major factor in morbidity and mortality in people living with human immunodeficiency virus. This study was conducted to see the sero-prevalence of hepatitis B and C among HIV positive patients coming to our Centre at Hindu Rao Hospital, Delhi. In this study, blood samples from 100 HIV-positive patients between April 2014 and March 2015 were collected and tested using standard enzyme immunoassays to see the prevalence of hepatitis B (HBsAg) and C (anti-HCV antibody) in HIV infected individuals. Among the 100 HIV positive individuals, we found that 4 patients were co-infected with hepatitis B virus (4%), 6 with hepatitis C virus (6%) and 2 with both hepatitis B and C viruses (2%). The overall HIV-hepatitis co-infection prevalence is 12%. The majority of the population infected was under 49 years of age. A significantly lower CD4 count was seen in the HIV/hepatitis co-infected population with the lowest being seen in the HIV/HCV co-infected individuals (68±20 cells/μl). The study highlights the importance of screening for hepatitis B and C viruses in the HIV affected population in developing countries like India, where there has been a steady increase in the cases of HIV-Hepatitis co-infection.