Seroprevalence of HIV-1, Hepatitis B and C viruses in sickle cell disease patients in Zaria, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Transfusion of blood is an important and a frequent modality of treatment for either vaso-occlussive or haemolytic crisis in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Sickle cell disease patients are therefore at risk of transfusion transmissible infection, blood transfusion been a recognized route of transmission of HIV, Hepatitis B and C virus particularly in resource constraint settings lacking antigen detection techniques as well as an organized and effective blood transfusion services. Aim: To determine the prevalence of HIV-1, Hepatitis B and C viral antibodies in patients with sickle cell disease. Patients and Method: A cross sectional study of 208 consecutive SCD patients at steady state and 94 healthy non-matched controls were screened for HIV-1antibodies (parallel ELISA Determine and Uni-Gold), Hepatitis B surface antigen (NOVA) and anti-HCV (NOVA) in 2006. Results: Of the total number of 204 SCD patients screened, 102 (49%) were males and 106 (51%) were females .The mean age of the subjects was 22 ± 8 years. One hundred and nine patients (95.2%) were haemoglobin S homozygote’s and 10 (4.8%) were compound heterozygote’s for haemoglobin S and C. Ninety percent of the subjects reported less than 5 units of whole blood transfusion during their lifetime. Prevalence of HIV, Hepatitis B and C was 3.9%, 2.0% and 4.4% respectively. Conclusion: Prevalence of HIV, Hepatitis B and C is low in our setting and this may not be unconnected with routine screening of prospective donors. However increased public awareness, health education programs and better screening techniques will further reduce the spread of these viruses, as other routes of transmission may also play a role.