co-infections and sero-prevalence of hiv, syphilis, hepatitis b and c infections in sexually transmitted infections clinic attendees of tertiary care hospital in north india

Background: hiv, syphilis, hepatitis b and c (hbv & hcv) infections modify the epidemiology and presentation of each other. this study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of these infections and their co-infections in sexually transmitted infections (sti) clinic attendees in new delhi, india. methods: a retrospective study including 220 patients was conducted during may 2014 through december 2014. serodiagnosis of hiv was performed as per strategy iii of naco guidelines; syphilis by vdrl followed by tpha; hbv and hcv by rapid immuno-chromatographic test followed by elisa. results: male subjects were slightly more in number as compared to females (56.36% vs. 43.63%). twelve (5.45%), 14 (6.36%), three (1.36 %) and one (0.45%) were reactive for hiv, vdrl, hbv and hcv, respectively. three were both hiv and syphilis positive and one was both hiv and hbv positive; no co-infections of hbv/hcv, hiv/hbv/hcv and hiv/hbv/hcv/syphilis coexisted. conclusions: high prevalence of hiv, hbv, hcv and syphilis in sti clinic attendees mandate routine screening to detect co-infections and follow prompt therapy in order to minimize their sequelae.