Immunological and Virological Response to HAART in HIV-1 Patients Co-Infected with Hepatitis B and C Viruses

Background: Among the countries highly endemic for viral hepatitis, Nigeria is found. Information on how triple infected persons (HIV, HBV, and HCV) fare on HAART in the country is lacking. Laboratory based investigation was carried out to assess the virological and immunological parameters of HIV-1 infected patients co-infected with Hepatitis B and C, accessing care at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research. It was a case controlled study.Objectives: The study aimed to compare the laboratory data of HIV-HBV-HCV patients seen between 2006 and 2009 with HIV-1 monoinfected patients in the same period, on HAART according to the national guideline and followed up for 12 months.Methods: Detection of Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg) and Hepatitis C Virus Antibody (HCVAb) were assayed using ELISA techniques (Bio Rad and DIA PRO respectively). The CD4 and HIV viral load were determined using the Cyflow Counter/Kits (Partec) and the Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor Test V1.5 (Roche) techniques respectively.Results: Forty-one (0.4%) of the 10,214 HIV-1 patients seen during the period were co-infected with both HBV and HCV. Over the 12 month-period, median HIV-1 viral load and CD4 count reduced and increased respectively (12,205–200 RNA copies/mL; 210–430 cells/μL from baseline – 12th month), and for the HIV-1 monoinfected patients (36,794-200 RNA copies/mL [p=0.5485] and 206-347 cells/μL [p=0.7703] from baseline – 12th month).Conclusion: There seems to be no significant influence of hepatitis B and C in HIV infection on HAART judging by the CD4 and viral load profiles which were similar in the two groups.Keywords: HBV, HCV, HIV, CD4, viral load, HAART.