A seroprevalence evaluation study of hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and herpes simplex virus -2 among a special study group

Viral STI are silent diseases. Most of them are symptomless, but have the potential to be transmitted to fetus and other sexual partners. Female sex workers, men who have sex with men are at high risk of getting STIs and individuals with certain STIs are at three to five-fold risk of getting HIV infection. Hence, the present study was carried out to know the seroprevalence of HBV, HCV and HSV-2 among our study group. A multi-centric cross sectional study was conducted. A total of 4062 serum samples were tested during the period January to December 2010. Serum samples were tested for HBsAg, anti-HCV and HSV-2 IgM using commercially available ELISA kits. Overall prevalence of HBV, HCV and HSV-2 were 2.8% (114/4062), 2% (84/4062) and 2.4% (96/4062) respectively. Most of the HBsAg positive cases were in the age-group of 20 to 25 years. We have observed that the positivity of all STIs studied was higher in transgender. Individuals infected with STIs are at the risk of contracting HIV, and co-infection with hepatitis can complicate the treatment for HIV. Screening of asymptomatic individuals will be helpful; prompt treatment of these STI will prevent ongoing transmissions as sex works are the critical core group.