SEROLOGICAL PROFILE OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS INFECTION HIV INFECTED ADULT PATIENTS IN KANO, NORTH WESTERN NIGERIA

Objective:To determine the serological profile of Hepatitis B virus infection among HIV infected adult patients in Kano Methodology: This was a hospital based retrospective observational study where subjects were screened and those who met the inclusion criteria and informed consented were consecutively recruited until required sample size was obtained. Data were collected using the pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire with sections on socio-demographic information, medical history including risk factors, clinical and laboratory findings. All subjects were thoroughly examined and venous blood samples were taken for necessary investigations and subsequently analysed at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital central and PEPFAR laboratories. Data was analysed with SPSS Version 18 Results: 431 HIV subjects were screened for HBV to obtain the required 100 HBV infected patients giving HBV seroprevalence of 23.2% among HIV infected patients. The results were presented as percentage of all patients with HBV/HIV co-infection below: Frequency of Hepatitis B serological makers among HBV/HIV cases N=100 Frequency n Percentage (%) HBsAg HBsAb HBeAg HBeAb HBcAb 100 0 47 36 83 100 0 47 36 83 Conclusion: The frequency of Hepatitis B seromarkers shows that of all the co-infected patients 83% had HBcAb indicating chronic infection with HBV, out of which 47% are HBeAg positive and are actively replicating while 36% are HBeAb positive and seroconvert to inactive carriers, with zero HBsAb. This explains the increased HBV viral replication observed in HIV patients and supports the fact that Hepatitis Bclearance is more difficult among HBV/HIV co-infected adult patients.