The Prevalence and Clinical Signi'ficance of Hepatitis 8 and C Coinfection

Background: hby and hcy coinfection is common, particularlyin endemic areas and among high risk groups. in thisstudy we have investigated the prevalence of hby/hcycoinfection and compared the biochemical and serologicalcharacteristics of such patients compare with the patients havinghepatitis c infection alone.methods: we studied 207 patients diagnosed as havingchronic hepatitis c, with hcyab and hcy-rna, to detecthbsag, hbcab and hby-dna. hbsag and hbcab weredetected by commercially available elisa kits. hby-dnawas evaluated using pcr methods and liver enzymes (altand ast) were measured by automated instruments.results: twenty three of the 207 patients (il.l 'yo) were positivefor hby-dna (coinfection). of these 23 patients, 17were hbsag negative. twenty six of the hcy infected patientswere hbcab positive of whom 21 had coinfection.this finding showed the significant prevalence of coinfectionthat many of these subjects may not be found by routine serologicalmethods. biochemical parameters showed no significantdifferences between the two groups.conclusion: coinfection of hby and hcy occurs frequently.detection of this form of infection can significantlyaffect the management and the treatment of these patients.