HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS AND HEPATITIS B VIRUS COINFECTION RATES IN INFANTS SEEKING HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS DIAGNOSIS IN SELECTED HEALTH FACILITIES IN THREE PROVINCES IN KENYA

Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections cause asignificant trepidation among infants in sub-Saharan Africa. The infections mainly occurvia perinatal or in utero transmission due to infectivity of the mother. The symptomswill vary depending on the stage of infection but HBV has a more adverse clinicalcourse when in conjunction with HIV than when there is mono-infection. The studydescribes the distribution and prevalence of HIV-HBV co-infections among the infantsaged between six weeks and eighteen months in selected health facilities in threeprovinces: Central, Eastern and Coast provinces in Kenya. Samples were collected frompost-natal clinics where mothers take their infants for vaccination after six weeks. Thesamples were collected on filter papers as dried blood spots (DBS). The samples weretested for HIV and Hepatitis B using polymerase chain reaction and rapid serologicaltests. The data obtained was analyzed for frequencies and correlations using SPSS(10.0). A total of 567 samples were analyzed for HIV and HBV rates as well as HIVHBVco-infection. The prevalence of HIV and HBV was found to be 10.1% and 1.4%respectively. However, there were no cases of HIV-HBV co-infection detected in thestudy. These findings show that though on a small scale, HBV infection may become amajor problem in infants and young children if not addressed adequately. The Ministryof Public Health and Sanitation needs to take this into consideration when developingdiagnostic policies for infants in Kenya.