Sero-prevalence of HBV and associated factors among HIV positive adults attending an ART clinic at Nekemte Specialized Hospital, Nekemte, Western Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis B is a major global health problem and potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by hepatitis B virus. It is more common in HIV infected individuals. The aim of this study was to assess the sero-prevalence of hepatitis B infection and associat-ed factors among HIV positive adults on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).
Method: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June, 2021.Samples were taken from randomly selected HIV positive adults visiting an ART clinic using a single population proportion formula. Blood sample were tested for HBsAg and data entered into Epi-data software 3.1, transferred to SPSS version 20 and analyzed. A difference was considered statistically significant at p value <0.05.
Result: Among 384 HIV positive adults on ART selected for this study, 199 (51.8%) were males and 185(48.2%) were females. Twenty-two (5.7%) individuals were sero-positive for HBsAg, of which 9 (2.3%) and 13 (3.4%) were females and males, respectively. Among the 384 adults, 22.7% of them had been married, and 9.1%, 40.9%, and 25% had been wid-owed, divorced and single, respectively and significantly associated with the presence of HBsAg at a 5% level of significance [AOR = 4.02; P = 0.041]. Similarly, regarding CD4 count, among the study subjects 0% of them had 200-250cells/μl and 251-300cells/μl, and 0.8%, 1.3%, and 3.6 % had <200cells/μl, 301-500cells/ μl and >500cells/ μl respectively and significantly associated with the presence of HBsAg at a 5% level of significance [AOR = 1.03; P = 0.034].
Conclusion: The prevalence of HBsAg was found to be moderate in HIV positive adults on ART. HBV infection had no significant effect on ART treatment progress or virological sup-pression. ART treatment had no association with HBV sero-negativity.CD4 counts had sig-nificant association with HBV infection. Provision of routine screening for HBV–HIV co-infected individuals and promoting awareness of this risk creation is necessary to advance treatment strategies.