Hepatitis C Virus in HIV Co-morbid Pregnancies in Jos, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections are of medical significance. Objective: The study was designed to determine the rates and risk factors for HCV infection among HIV positive pregnant women compared with HIV negative controls. Methods: It was a cross-sectional comparative study at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Jos and the AIDs Preventive Initiative in Nigeria (APIN) laboratory, Jos. Blood samples of Both HIV negative antenatal attendees and HIV positive pregnant women attending Prevention of Mother to Child transmission (PMTCT) clinic was taken in an EDTA anti-coagulant containing specimen bottle for serological test with second generation ELISA. Specimen containers were coded to ensure confidentiality. Plasma samples were obtained after centrifugation of the whole blood. The sample was stored at -20°C until the time for analysis.  Results: A total of 326 subjects were studied .The mean (SD) for age, parity and gestational age of subjects were 30.1±4.9 years, 1.4±1.3 and 21.9±8.4 weeks respectively. Twelve (7.4%) and 4(2.5%) tested positive for anti-HCV antibodies in the HIV positive group and HIV negative group respectively. There was a statistically significant odd of having HCV among women with HIV compared to HIV negative controls (Fishers exact =0.03, P<0.05) {OR 0.32 (0.10-1.00) 95% CI}.More proportion of the study participants with co-infections have Multiple sexual partners, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, low education, higher parity and advanced age than the comparative group. Conclusion: Education, public health enlightenment, and modification of social lifestyle will halt or reduce this trend in sub-Saharan Africa.