Co-infections with hepatitis B and C viruses in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients in Morocco
Rebbani, K.; Ouladlahsen, A.; Bensghir, A.; Akil, A.; Lamdini, H.; Issouf, H.; Brahim, I.; Kitab, B.; Fakhir, F.Z.; Wakrim, L.; Marhoum El Filali, K.; Himmich, H.; Ezzikouri, S.; Benjelloun, S.
Clinical Microbiology and Infection the Official Publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 19(10): E454-E457
2013
ISSN/ISBN: 1469-0691 PMID: 23731409 DOI: 10.1111/1469-0691.12252Document Number: 576582
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are major public health concerns. We aimed to determine the prevalence of HBV and HCV infections among HIV-infected patients, and to identify the main circulating hepatitis strains in Morocco. The study was carried out in 503 HIV-infected patients. Our survey indicated that the prevalence of HIV/hepatitis co-infection was 10.6%; 5.2% of patients were HBV surface antigen positive, and 5.4% of patients were anti-HCV positive. Among the HBV surface antigen-positive group, HBV DNA sequencing identified exclusively genotype D (D1: 26.7%; D7: 73.3%) in accordance with what is found in the general population. In contrast, sequencing of HCV isolates produced an unusual subtype distribution with a decreasing order of prevalence: 1a, 3a (both 23.5%), 1b, 4a (both 17.6%), 1c (11.8%) and 6h (6%).