14th ICID - Poster Abstracts - International Society for Infectious ...

When citing these abstracts please use the following reference:
Author(s) of abstract. Title of abstract [abstract]. Int J Infect Dis 2010;14S1: Abstract number.
Please note that the official publication of the International Journal of Infectious Diseases 2010, Volume 14, Supplement 1
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Final Abstract Number: 27.004
Session: HIV: Epidemiology and Prevention
Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Time: 12:30-13:30
Room: Poster & Exhibition Area/Ground Level
Type: Poster Presentation
Frequency of isolated antibody to hepatitis B core antigen in HIV- HCV coinfected individuals
A. Ramezani 1 , A. Aghakhani 1 , A. Eslamifar 1 , M. Mohraz 2 , M. Banifazl 3
1 Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran, Islamic Republic of, 2 Iranian Research Center for
HIV/AIDS, Tehran, Iran, Islamic Republic of, 3 Iranian society for support patients with infectious
diseases , Tehran, Iran, Islamic Republic of
Background: An association between isolated anti-HBc and HCV infection has been noted in
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons. Isolated anti-HBc was more frequently
seen in HIV-HCV coinfected patients than subjects with HIV infection alone. Occult hepatitis B
may be encountered in HIV-HCV co-infected patients with isolated anti-HBc. This study describes
the frequency of isolated anti-HBc and its possible value for detection of HBV-DNA in HIV
infected patients with or without HCV co-infection.
Methods: 92 HIV infected patients were enrolled in this study. HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc, anti-
HCV, ALT, HIV viral load and CD4 count were tested in all subjects. We compared 63 subjects
with HIV-HCV co-infection with 29 subjects with HIV infection alone regarding isolated anti-HBc
(HBsAg negative, anti-HBs negative and anti-HBc positive). Presence of HBV-DNA was
determined quantitatively by real-time PCR in serum samples of patients with isolated anti-HBc.
Results: Of the 63 anti-HCV positive patients, 18 subjects (28.6%, 95% CI, 22.6%-34.6%) and of
29 anti-HCV negative patients 5 subjects (17.2%, 95% CI, 11.5%-22.9%) had isolated anti-HBc.
HBV-DNA was detectable in 3 out of 18 anti-HCV positive patients with isolated anti-HBc (16.7%,
95% CI, 9.7%-23.7%) and none of anti-HCV negative patients with isolated anti-HBc. There was
no significant difference between the HIV patients with and without HCV coinfection regarding
isolated anti-HBc and occult HBV infection.
Conclusion: Our study showed that HIV-HCV coinfected individuals were more likely to have
isolated anti-HBc than subjects with HIV alone. It demonstrated that the presence of isolated anti-
HBc in HIV-HCV co-infected individuals may reflect occult HBV infection in these patients.