Prevalence of Hepatitis C virus and HIV among adults presenting for health screening in Lagos

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis C virus is an important cause of chronic liver disease with 71 million people worldwide living with chronic HCV infection as at 2015. Nigeria has the second largest burden of HIV in Africa, with 3.2 million Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS in 2016. Most people infected with the hepatitis C virus are asymptomatic and often unaware of their infection. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for HCV and HIV infections among apparently healthy individuals in Lagos.

Materials and methods: This was a retrospective study in which the prevalence of hepatitis C virus antibodies and HIV was determined among apparently healthy individuals who presented for health screening at a private laboratory facility in Lagos from May 2014 to June 2016. The health records of those who met the inclusion criteria were systematically reviewed to extract demographic and clinical information including age, sex, history of blood transfusion, alcohol use, surgery and results of serological tests for antibodies to hepatitis C virus and HIV.

Results: Out of 1379 apparently healthy individuals included in the study, 60.1% were male. The prevalence rate of hepatitis C virus (HCV antibody) and HIV were 0.7% and 2% respectively. Hepatitis C virus infection was not significantly associated with history of blood transfusion, alcohol use, prior surgery and age. HIV infection was significantly associated with only prior history of surgery (OR 4.72, p=0.02).

Conclusion: In this study of apparently healthy Nigerians, the prevalence rates of HCV and HIV were low, no documented HCV-HIV co-infection and surgery was a risk factor for HIV infection. Screening of healthy individuals for HIV and HCV infection is very importConclusion:ant to determine those who are infected and need to access treatment.