Assessment of the Prevalence and Risk Factors of HBV AND HIV CO- Infections among HIV Infected Patients Attending Art Clinic in Port Harcourt

Background: HBV and HIV infection are both high prevalence infections in our society and often associated with chronic diseases, high morbidity and mortality. Both viruses share similar characteristics such as same route of transmission, the use of reverse transcriptase enzyme for replication, tendency to develop chronic infections, and an immense capacity of mutation in their genome.

Aims: To determine the prevalence and the associated risk factors of HBV among HIV positive patients in Port Harcourt, using ELISA kits and questionnaires.

Methodology: This cross sectional study of HBV/HIV co-infection was carried out among 100 HIV positive attending adult ART-clinics in UPTH between July and August 2017 using HBsAg ELISA kits(DIA.PRO, diagnostic Bioprobes Srl. Italy.) and questionnaires for the evaluation of possible independent predictors and other variables such as social demographic characteristics.

Results: Overall prevalence of HBV/HIV co infections in the study was 22%, with demonstrable decreased prevalence of HBV/HIV co infections with increasing age of respondents but this relationship was not statistically significant P<0.05. Similarly, the relationship between HBV/HIV co infection and level of CD4+ counts was also not statistically significant P<0.05 While unlike primary and secondary level education, there was statistically significant relationship between HBV/HIV co infections and tertiary level of education P<0.05.,

Conclusion: The high prevalence of HBV/HIV co infections our study corroborated the report of high burden of this disease in Nigeria. To reverse the steady state of this “hyper-endemicity,’’ there is need for coordinated health education, as well as strict adherence to management guidelines to minimize possible associated complications