Hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and HIV coinfection among people living with HIV/AIDS in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Date
2010
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Abstract
The HIV epidemic in Argentina has changed since the first case was reported in 1982. Since the beginning of the 1990s, a decrease in the number parenterally acquired infections has been observed, with a marked increase in transmission through unprotected sexual contact (heterosexual and homosexual), and in the number of women living with HIV/AIDS [1]. Few prevalence studies have addressed the hepatitis B and C virus coinfection in Argentina. We performed this study in a large single clinic in Buenos Aires, taking care of more than 3,000 HIV patients. During a seven-month period (9/2004 to 3/2005), all HIV-positive patients ≥ 18 years old, who were followed up at our unit and who had their scheduled controls for HIV viral load (VL) at the Argentinean National Reference Centre for AIDS (CNRS), were invited to participate in the study. The study was approved by the Fernández Hospital Ethics Committee. Patients gave their informed consent to be included in the study. Six hundred subjects were asked to enter the study, and 593 accepted.
Studied population: 65.6% males, 64% young adults between 20 and 40 years old. The main route of HIV infection was through sexual contact (70%).
Of the 593 samples, 52% (n=308) showed positive results for serological markers (HBcAb/HBsAg/anti-HCV) for hepatitis B or C coinfection. Coinfection rates and subjects characteristics are described in Table 1.
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Keywords
Hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, HIV coinfection, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Citation
Laufer, N., Quarleri, J., Bouzas, M. B., Juncos, G., Cabrini, M., Moretti, F., ... Cahn, P. (2010). The coughing patient: TB or not TB; that is the question. JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.