Authors : A.B. Olokoba , L.B. Olokoba , F.K. Salawu , A. Danburam , O.O. Desalu , J. Midala and S. Aderibigbe
Abstract: To determine Hepatitis C virus and Human immunodeficiency virus co-infection rate in North-Eastern Nigeria. Hospital-based cross-sectional study. HIV/AIDS clinic of the Federal Medical Centre, Yola. Nigeria. From December 2006 to December 2007. Two hundred consecutively recruited HIV/AIDS patients comprising 69 males and 131 females were screened for anti-HCV antibodies using ELISA. The biodata of the patients were obtained. Out of the 200 HIV/AIDS patients tested, nine were positive for anti-HCV antibodies giving an overall co-infection rate of 4.5%. Of the 69 males who had HIV/AIDS, 4 (5.8%) were positive for anti-HCV antibodies while 5 (3.8%) of the one hundred and thirty one females with HIV/AIDS were positive. Co-infection rate was highest in the 30-39 years age group (44.4%), while no case of co-infection was found in the 10-19, 50-59 and 60-69 years age groups. This study confirms a low co-infection rate of Hepatitis C virus infection in patients with HIV/AIDS. However, there is still a need to screen patients with HIV/AIDS for Hepatitis C virus infection.
A.B. Olokoba , L.B. Olokoba , F.K. Salawu , A. Danburam , O.O. Desalu , J. Midala and S. Aderibigbe , 2008. Hepatitis C Virus and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Co-Infection in North-Eastern Nigeria. Research Journal of Medical Sciences, 2: 217-219.