Abstract

POLO, Pedro; CASTANEDA, Carlos; SIERRA, María  and  ALVIS, Nelson. Occult Hepatitis B co-infection in health center patients with HIV in Barranquilla, Colombia. Infect. [online]. 2010, vol.14, n.1, pp.39-46. ISSN 0123-9392.

Objective: The objective is to establish the frequency of Hepatitis B (VHB) co-infection in HIV outpatients at VitalSalud Health Center in Barranquilla, Colombia. Methods: Two serological tests to diagnose Hepatitis B in our HIV patients were performed: Hepatitis B surface antigen and Anticore type Ig G (anti HBC Ig G). These tests were run between July, 2007 and July, 2009. Results: The tests were applied to 103 HIV patients. There was a prevalence of 3.1% (3 patients) for chronic Hepatitis B. Four patients passed away during the study term, none of them was Hepatitis B positive. Six patients with isolated anti HBc Ig G were detected, and only one of them had a positive viral load for VHB DNA (158 copies/ml). This patient was not taking lamivudine at the time of the test. Conclusions: The prevalence of VHB in our patients is similar to the prevalence reported in our country as a whole. The search for occult hepatitis B was positive, with a low viral load, in one out of 103 of our patients. The strategies for diagnosis of occult hepatitis B in HIV patients under lamivudine treatment require further research.

Keywords : Hepatitis B; HIV; AIDS; Occult Hepatitis B.

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