Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and human T-Cell lymphotropic virus infections in HIV-infected patients in Sierra Leone

Abstract

HIVcoinfectionwithhepatitisBvirus (HBV), hepatitisCvirus (HCV), andhumanT-cell lymphotropic viruses1 and 2 (HTLV-1 and HTLV-2) is common because of shared transmission routes. There is no published data on the prevalence of these infections in people living with HIV in Sierra Leone. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 211 HIV-positive patients aged 18 years in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in November 2017. Plasma samples were analyzed using the chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (Architect System, Abbott ARCHITECT Analyzer, Abbott Park, IL. The majority were female (63.5%), with median age 36 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 32-44) and median CD4 count of 396 cells/μL (IQR: 214-534). Sixty patients (28.4%) were newly diagnosed and antiretroviral therapy (ART) naive; 151 patients (71.6%) were ART experienced. The prevalence of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), total anti-hepatitis B core antibody, and anti-HCV was 21.7%, 82.9%, and 4.3%, respectively.Nocases ofHTLV-1 orHTLV-2were detected.Male gender (P= 0.004) andCD4 < 350 cells/μL (P = 0.017) were associated with the HBsAg positive status.