Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Volume 107, Issue 5 , Pages 404-411, May 2008

Seroprevalence of Viral Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Disease Among Adults with Recently Diagnosed HIV Infection in Southern Taiwan, 2000–2005: Upsurge in Hepatitis C Virus Infections Among Injection Drug Users

  • Hsin-Chun Lee

      Affiliations

    • Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
    • Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Nai-Ying Ko

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Nan-Yao Lee

      Affiliations

    • Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Chia-Ming Chang

      Affiliations

    • Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Wen-Chien Ko

      Affiliations

    • Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
    • Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Dr Wen-Chien Ko, Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, 138 Sheng Li Road, Tainan 704, Taiwan

Received 15 November 2007; received in revised form 22 January 2008; accepted 12 February 2008.

Article Outline

Background/Purpose

The purpose of this study was to compare the seroprevalence of viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted disease (STD) co-infections among three populations at risk recently diagnosed with HIV infection.

Methods

A retrospective review of medical records was performed to determine the prevalence of several co-infections among adults recently diagnosed with HIV infection between 2000 and 2005 at National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan, Taiwan.

Results

Among a total of 484 adults, 124 (25.6%) were men having sex with men (MSM), 105 (21.7%) were heterosexual adults, and 255 (52.7%) were injection drug users (IDUs). The case number of adults with recently diagnosed HIV infection increased annually, from 27 in 2000 to 142 in 2005 (p < 0.001). This trend appeared to be attributable to the upsurge in HIV infection among IDUs beginning in 2003. At the time of HIV diagnosis, mean CD4+ counts were significantly higher and plasma HIV-1 RNA loads were lower in the IDU group than the MSM or heterosexual groups. The hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier rate was similar in all three groups, with an average rate of 16.5%. The prevalence of treponemal antibody and Entamoeba histolytica indirect hemagglutination antibody was higher in MSM (37.5% and 9.4%, respectively) than in heterosexuals (19.6% and 7.3%, respectively) or IDUs (3.2% and 2.1%). The seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus infection increased with age, with 94.2% (97/103) of patients who were older than 40 years. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) or HBV-HCV co-infections were noted more often in IDUs (97.9% and 16.9%, respectively) than in heterosexuals (10.9% and 2.2%, respectively) and MSM (5.3% and 3.6%, respectively).

Conclusion

There was a recent upsurge in HIV-HCV co-infected IDUs in southern Taiwan. A higher rate of co-infection with STDs among HIV-infected MSM highlights the need for integrated STD control efforts in current HIV prevention programs.

Key Words:  human immunodeficiency virus , sexually transmitted diseases , transmission routes , viral hepatitis

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PII: S0929-6646(08)60106-0

doi:10.1016/S0929-6646(08)60106-0

Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Volume 107, Issue 5 , Pages 404-411, May 2008

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