Seroprevalence of HBV and HIV Co-infection in Children in Nnewi, South-East, Nigeria

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus/HBV coinfection remains an important public health issue due to the risk of rapid progression to chronic liver disease and death. Despite the foregoing, there is paucity of data on Hepatitis among HIV-infected children receiving treatment in a tertiary hospital at Nnewi, South-East Nigeria. Objectives: This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of HBsAg in HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected children at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi, Anambra State, Nigeria. Methods: A cross sectional case control study was carried out among 120 HIV infected and 120 non-HIV infected children. The care givers and/or children were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire to obtain their socio-demographic characteristics, possible risk factors for HBV transmission and HBV vaccination history. All the participating children were screened for Hepatitis B surface antigen. Results: The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen among HIV-infected and non-HIV infected were 5.8% and 0.8% respectively (p=0.03). Most of the children with HBV were males. The mean age of those infected with HBV was significantly higher than those without HBV infection. History of unsafe parenteral injections (p=0.03) and blood transfusion (p=0.02) were significantly associated with HBV surface antigen seropositivity. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that the rate of HBV infection among HIV infected children is higher than that of the non-HIV infected children with increased risk of HBV seropositivity from parenteral injection and blood transfusion also amongst HIV infected. Adequate screening of blood and its products before transfusion is advocated.