Prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among tuberculosis patients with or without HIV in Goiânia City, Brazil

AbstractBackgroundHepatitis B virus (HBV) and tuberculosis (TB) represent major public health problems. There is currently little data on HBV infection among TB patients with and without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).ObjectivesTo assess HBV prevalence among TB patients with and without HIV.Study designFrom April 2008 to March 2010, a cross-sectional study was conduct among TB patients attended at a reference hospital in Goiânia City, Brazil. The participants were tested for serological markers of HBV infection and HIV antibodies. HBV DNA was detected in HBsAg-positive samples, and also in HBsAg-negative/anti-HBc-positive samples to look for HBV occult infection.ResultsOf 425 patients, 402 (94.6%) agreed to participate in the study. The overall prevalence of HBV (HBsAg and/or anti-HBc positive) and HIV infections were 25.6% (103/402) and 27.6% (111/402), respectively. A higher HBV infection rate was found among HIV-infected patients (36.9%; 41/111) compared to patients infected with TB only (20.0%; 57/285). A multivariate analysis of risk factors showed that age ≥50 years (p=0.03), non-injecting (p<0.01) and injecting (p