Abstract

The incidence of syphilis and viral hepatitis tends to rise among individuals with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) due to similar ways of transmission. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of co-infection by investigating the seroprevalence of hepatitis and syphilis at the time of initial HIV diagnosis. We retrospectively analyzed hepatitis and syphilis tests routinely performed on patients diagnosed with HIV infection at the infectious disease’s clinic of İnonu University between January 2019 and October 2021. For each participant, results of routine viral hepatitis tests [HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HCV, total anti-HBc, anti-HAV IgG] and syphilis tests [VDRL-RPR and TPHA] were obtained from the hospital’s electronic medical record system and transferred to the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 22 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) for analysis. Ninety-one patients were included, 85 (93.4%) of whom were male and 6 (6.6%) were female. The age ranged from 17 to 74, with mean value age of 36.19 ± 12.8. Syphilis serology was positive in 27 (29.7%) of the 91 patients. Examining the yearly distribution, HIV syphilis co-infection rates were 25.7% in 2019, 20.8% in 2020, and 40.6% in 2021. No anti-HCV positivity was observed. Anti-HAV IgG was positive in 84.6% of patients. HBsAg positivity was found in 5.5% of patients, while 41.8% had anti-HBs positivity. Ten patients with positive anti-HBs were also positive total anti-HBc. Notably, 20 patients acquired immunity through vaccination. Isolated total anti-HBc positivity was detected in 4.4% of patients, and their HBV-DNA values were negative. The association between HIV and co-infections remains a substantial global public health challenge. Education, vaccination, and monitoring epidemiological changes over time are vital preventive measures. It is estimated that achieving HIV-RNA suppression and confidence in powerful ART among people with HIV may reduce adherence to protective measures and pose a risk for hepatitis and syphilis transmission.

Key words: Human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, seroprevalence