a b s t r a c t
Aim: This studyisthefirstattemptconductedtodeterminetheco-infectionratesofHepatitisCvirus
among peoplelivingwithHIV/AIDS(PLWHA)inourhospital.Thisisexpectedtoleadtoimprovementin
treatment protocols.
Background: Co-infection ofHepatitisCvirusinfectionandHIV(HumanImmuneDeficiencyVirus)infec-
tion isnottobeunexpectedastheyshareroutesofinfection.Thedetectionofsuchpatientsisparticularly
important asthetreatmentmayinvolvelifethreateningdruginteractions.Thiscouldresultinshorter
life expectancyofthepatients.
Materials andMethods: This isaprospectivestudy.Atotalof280subjectslivingwithHIV/AIDSwere
recruited intothisstudy.Seraoftheparticipantsweresubjectedtoanti-HCVantibody(IgG)screening
using thirdgenerationELISAkitfromDIA.PRO,Italy.TheprevalenceofHCVwasdeterminedandbar
charts andtableswereutilisedtodepicttheprevalenceratesofvariousgroups.
Results: Sixty five(23.2%)oftheparticipantswerefoundtobeco-infected.Noassociationwasestablished
between age,sex,partnersstatus,previoustransfusion,andnumberofpartners.
Conclusion: The prevalenceof23.2%forHCVamongPLWHAreportedforthiscommunityisalarming.
More focusshouldbedirectedonmanagementofHCVcomponentofcoinfectionthanitisdonenow.
Further studiesarerecommendedemployingmoleculartechniquestodeterminesubtypesofHCVthat
may bepredominantandwhythisfigureofco-infectionissohighinthestudylocation.