[967] SEROPREVALENCE OF HCV AMONG HIV-POSITIVE COMPARED TO HIV-NEGATIVE PREGNANT WOMEN IN YAOUNDE, CAMEROON

2nd International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment

Paris, France - July 13 - 16, 2003

[TITLE:] SEROPREVALENCE OF HCV AMONG HIV-POSITIVE COMPARED TO HIV-NEGATIVE PREGNANT WOMEN IN YAOUNDE, CAMEROON

[AUTHOR(S):] R Njouom¹, C Pasquier², A Ayouba¹, A Kfutwah¹, MC Tejiokem¹, J Mfoupouendoun¹, B Njinku1, G Tene³, M Mony Lobe³, J Thonnon¹, J Izopet² and E Nerrienet¹
¹Laboratoire de Virologie, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaounde, Cameroon; ²Laboratoire de Virologie, CHU Toulouse Purpan, Toulouse, France; and ³Centre Mère-Enfant, Fondation Chantal Biya, Yaounde, Cameroon

IAS Conf HIV Pathog Treat 2003 Jul 13-16;2nd: Abstract No. 967
Antiviral Therapy 2003; 8(Suppl. 1):S457

[ABSTRACT:] Background: HCV and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) share similar transmission characteristics; therefore, co-infections due to these viruses are common among HIV-infected patients, the prevalence depending on the HIV-transmission category.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine and compare HCV seroprevalence among HIV-positive and HIV-negative pregnant women in Yaounde.

Methods: Two thousand five hundred and fifty-four consecutive pregnant women participating in a pilot public health programme (PPHP) for the reduction of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 in Yaounde, Cameroon were enrolled. The presence of anti-HCV antibodies was checked using a commercial third-generation ELISA. Information concerning the HIV status was obtained through the PPHP.

Results: HCV antibody prevalence was 1.9% (49/2554; 95% CI: 1.4–2.5%) and HIV prevalence was 8.5% (217/2554; 95% CI: 7.4–9.6%). Similar HCV seroprevalence was found among HIV-positive [1.8 % (4/217); 95 % CI: 0.6–5.0%] compared to HIV-negative pregnant women [1.9% (45/2337); 95% CI: 1.4–2.6%] (P=0.8).

Conclusion: This absence of difference in anti-HCV prevalence among HIV-positive compared to HIV-negative pregnant women in Yaounde may suggest that HCV sexual transmission is not common in this population, and that HIV infection does not enhance susceptibility to HCV sexual transmission. However, because of the existence of false-negative anti-HCV results among HIV-positive patients, further investigations using molecular HCV tests are required to confirm this finding.

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