Prevalence rates of HIV, HBsAg and HCV co-infections among tuberculosis patients in Sokoto Metropolis, Northwest Nigeria

Introduction and Objectives: Tuberculosis (TB) and viral hepatitis are global health problems which are common in developing and undeveloped countries. The current study was aimed at determining the prevalence and co-infections of HIV, HBsAg and HCV among patients with tuberculosis in Sokoto, Northwest Nigeria.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 276 patients with tuberculosis, aged 19-60 years at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto and Specialist Hospital, Sokoto between May and November 2015. Blood samples collected were screened for HIV, HBsAg and HCV using immunochromatographic techniques.

Results: The prevalence rates of HIV, HBsAg and HCV among TB patients were 16.3%, 14.9% and 5.4%, respectively while the prevalence of co-infections HIV-HBsAg, HIV-HCV, HBsAg-HCV and HIV-HBsAg-HCV in TB patients were 50.7%, 1.81%, 2.9% and 1.45%, respectively. Prevalence of HIV and HCV showed no relationship with age (P=0.240 and 0.987, respectively) but prevalence of HBsAg was associated with age (P=0.0304). There were no relationships of frequencies of HIV, HBsAg and HCV with gender.

Conclusion and Recommendations: The study showed high prevalence rates of HIV, HBsAg and HIV-HBsAg co-infections among patients with tuberculosis in Sokoto, while age and gender showed little or no association. HIV and HBsAg tests are recommended for every patient diagnosed with tuberculosis to guide therapeutic decisions.