Prevalence of hepatitis- B virus infection among HIV patients in Ikole Ekiti, South – Western, Nigeria

Infections from HIV, Hepatitis B virus constitute a major public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, and there are evidences to suggest that there is faster progression of HIV in those co-infected with either HBV. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HBV infections among HIV-infected patients, and describe the sociodemographic features and correlates of HIV and HBV co-infected patients at Specialists Hospital, Ekiti, Nigeria. One hundred and fifty eight (158) HIV individuals who consented to the study were tested for HBV using Diaspot HBsAg kit (Screening test) and Biorex Diagnostic ELISA kit (Confirmatory test) between November 2012 and April, 2013. CD4 counts were also analysed with Aldrich Sigma kit and flow cytometery respectively. P value < 0.05 was considered to be significant. Prevalence rates of Hepatitis B infections among HIV obtained were 5.7%. Individuals who were 51 years or younger were the most affected HBV co-infection was more common among females than males (3.8%: 1.8%, res, P = 0.0004). Out of 9 patients, 8 patients (88.9%) fell within the age range 30- 49 years which implies the high prevalence of HIV among labour force while 1 patient (11.1%) fell within the range of 50-60 years .Mean serum ALT and AST among participants with HIV alone were (42.0, 38.3) International Units (IU), but were significantly higher (57.6, 43.7) International Units (IU) for those with HIV/HBV co-infection, P = (0.048, 0.032).Mean CD 4 count for HIV/HBV co-infected participants (389 cell/mm 3 ) was significantly higher than that for participants with HIV alone (230 cell/mm 3 ), P = 0.024 Conclusion: Co-infection with hepatitis B virus is common among HIV-infected patients in our setting and this further reaffirms the need for routine baseline screening for this marker, as it is a major consideration in the initiation and choice of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Furthermore, those found to be negative should be immunized with HBV vaccine to improve the prognosis of their HIV status