Prevalence of Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B co-infections in District Hyderabad, Pakistan

Abstract

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that may lead to cirrhosis. Viral hepatitis is an important global public health problem, particularly in Asian countries. Because of shared routes of transmission of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV), coinfection is not uncommon in areas with high rate of hepatitis infection such as Pakistan. It is estimated that in Pakistan at least nine million people harbor HBV and over fourteen million are chronically infected with HCV. The overarching goals of the present study were to evaluate the prevalence rate of HBV, and HCV mono-infections and co-infections in Hyderabad, Sindh. A total 2214 individuals were enrolled in the present study. All samples were analyzed by using third generation ELISA using Bioelisa kits as per manufacturer’s guidelines. The data obtained in the current study demonstrated that 26.38% samples were positive for HCV, with 11.11% males and 15.27% females whereas 12.42% individuals were found positive for HBV, of which 7.72% were males and 4.70% were females. The prevalence of HBV-HCV co-infection was 4.52% (males 2.17 % and females 2.35%). In Summary, the current study shows a high prevalence rate of HCV, and HBV mono infections. HCV seemed to be more common in females than in males, while HBV was more common in males than in females. HBV-HCV co-infection prevalence was found to be slightly high in females than in males