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ABSTRACT: Background: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection is common among HIV infected patients and associated with adverse health outcome. Aim: This study aimed at determining the prevalence and risk factors for HCV sero-positivity among HIV infected patients in Benin City, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Seven milliliters of whole blood was collected from a total of 613 HIV positive patients (comprising of 480 HAART exposed and 133 HAART naïve patients) and screened for the presence of antibodies to Hepatitis C virus using immuno-chromatographic technique. CD4+ T lymphocyte estimation was done using flow cytometry. Age range of patients was 4-75 years. A questionnaire was used to obtain relevant information from study participant. Results: Overall, the prevalence of HCV was 4.1% and was significantly affected by age (P=0.012) of participants A statistically significant association was observed between presence of tribal marks and HCV infection (OR= 2.624; 95% CI = 1.123, 6.130; P = 0.026). Other types of body scarification (tattoo, ear piercing and medical marks) were not observed as risk factors for HCV infection (P ˃ 0.05). The prevalence of HCV was not significantly affected by gender (P = 0.766), history of blood transfusion (P = 0.123), surgery (P = 0.726), and HAART status of HIV infected patients (P = 0.311). HAART naïve patients with CD4 count ≥ 200 cells.mm3 had an insignificantly (P = 0.142) higher sero-prevalence of HCV, than those with lower count: Conclusions: Age and presence of tribal marks were identified as risk factors for acquisition of HCV infection. Prompt intervention is advocated to reduce the prevalence of HCV infection and associated sequalae
Hepatitis C Virus, HIV, risk factors, Nigeria
Hepatitis C Virus, HIV, risk factors, Nigeria
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