Human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis B or C co-infection in KwaZulu-Natal: a retrospective analysis of a laboratory database

Abstract

Hepatitis B or C virus infection has an important influence on treatment and outcomes in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. HIV worsens the prognosis in hepatitis B- or C virus-infected patients, and patients on antiretroviral therapy are more likely to experience hepatotoxicity if they are co-infected with a hepatotropic virus. There is a paucity of data on the epidemiology of hepatotropic viruses in relation to each other and to HIV in KwaZulu-Natal. The aim of this study was to describe the seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C virus in HIV-positive and -negative individuals in KwaZulu-Natal from 2002-2010, using a large laboratory database of routine serological results. Patients who had an HIV or hepatitis B or C test performed at the National Health Laboratory Service Department of Virology in Durban from 2002-2010 were included in the study. The study revealed that the overall seropositivity of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was 12.05%, and that of hepatitis C immunoglobulin G (IgG), 4.13%. Individuals who were seropositive for HIV had 3.19-fold increased odds of being positive for HBsAg, 2.06-fold increased odds of being hepatitis B viruse antigen-positive, and 2.91-fold increased odds of being hepatitis C virus IgG-positive. Of those individuals who were tested for HBsAg and hepatitis C virus IgG (irrespective of HIV status), 15.76% were seropositive for both markers. HIV-positive individuals are at increased odds of having markers for hepatitis B and C infection.