Determination of CD4 T-Cells Counts In HIV/HBV/HCV Co-Infected Pregnant Women on Haart in Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

HIV/HBV and HIV/HCV co-infections places patients at high risk of liver-related morbidity and mortality and the interaction of these viruses further complicate treatment. Pregnant women are particularly at higher risk for increased morbidity and mortality with the prospect of vertical transmission of the viruses to their new born. A total of one hundred and fifty pregnant women were enrolled for the study, out of which fifteen 15(10%) of the pregnant women were sero-positive for HBV and ten 10(6.9%) sero-positive for HCV. The immunologic status of the HIV/HBV and HIV/HCV co-infected pregnant women were 361cells µ/l and 342cells µ/l which was lower when compared with those mono-infected with 419cells µ/l and 418cells µ/l CD4 mean count. The study also discovered that liver enzymes were higher among mono-infected (ALT 29 U/L) and (AST 28 U/L) when compared with those co-infected with HIV/HBV and HIV/HCV (ALT 16 U/L, AST 18 U/L) and (ALT 12 U/L, AST 9 U/L) respectively. The 10% prevalence of HBV and 6.9% prevalence of HCV reported in this study confirms the endemicity of HIV/HBV and HIV/HCV co-infections in Nigeria, and this support the calls for screening hepatitis B and C as a routine laboratory diagnosis in antenatal care.