[Detection of hepatitis B and hepatitis C markers in HIV positive patients, 2000-2004]

Marité Bello Corredor1, Licel de los Angeles Rodríguez Lay, Aidonis Gutiérrez Moreno

  • 1Instituto de Medicina Tropical "Pedro Kourí", Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba. marite@ipk.sld.cu

A marked association exists among the hepatitis B virus (HBV), the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the type 1 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), since the transmission route and the risk groups are very similar. The objective of this paper was to know the coinfection among HBV, HCV and HIV in the studied period. 2 994 serum samples from HIV (+) patients were received at the National Reference Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis (IPK) during 2000-2004 to investigate hepatitis B surface antigen (HRsAg) and anti HCV antibodies, both by the UMELISA technique (Immunoassay Center, CIE, Cuba). Epi Info program (Version 6.04) was used for statistical analysis. Positivity to HbsAg was found in 10.3%. 10.4% had anti-HCV antibodies, and there was HBV, HCV and HIV coinfection in 1.7% of the patients. We confirmed what is stated in literature on HBV, HCV and HIV coinfections.