Research Article
Hepatitis C Virus Antibody (HCV-Ab) Co-Existing With Human Immunodefficiency Virus (HIV) And Malaria Parasites in Benin City Nigeria
Joy Z. SAIDU, Godfrey O. ORIBHABOR, Mercy O. ASUELIME,
Corresponding Author : Joy Z. SAIDU
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Benin, PMB 1154 Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.
Email ID : zitgwai@gmail.com
Received : 2020-04-04 Accepted : 2020-05-01 Published : 2020-05-02
Abstract : This study determined the prevalence of Hepatitis C virus antibody (HCV-Ab), Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV), malaria parasites and their co-infection among 323 consented outpatients attending a Government Hospital in Benin City, Nigeria. Serology was used for detection of HCV-AB and HIV while Microscopic method was used for malaria parasites detection. Also a well-structured questionnaires were used to collect data on sociodemographic from participants. Amongst the 323 participants, a seropositivity of 65(20.1%), 52(16.1%) and 289(89.5%) to HCV-Ab, HIV and malaria parasites were recorded respectively. According to gender, females had the highest occurrence of HCV-Ab 47(14.6%) than males 18(5.6%). Also males and females recorded an even co-infection of HCV-Ab/HIV of 4(1.2%) (P<0.05). The prevalence of HCV, HIV, malaria and co-infection among the study population imply that these infections are a threat to the human health. Health awareness programs should be implemented and HCV vaccination should be encouraged.
Keywords : Hepatitis C virus, Human Immunodeficiency virus, Malaria parasites, Serology, Microscopy
Citation : Saidu J.Z et al. (2020). Hepatitis C Virus Antibody (HCV-Ab) Co-Existing With Human Immunodefficiency Virus (HIV) And Malaria Parasites in Benin City Nigeria, J. of Advancement in Medical and Life Sciences. V7I4.03. DOI : 10.5281/zenodo.3782276
Copyright : © 2019 Saidu J.Z . This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Journal of Advancement in Medical and Life Sciences
ISSN : 2348-294X
Volume 7 / Issue 4
ScienceQ Publishing Group
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Reviewer Comments : 1#
The authors have studied the prevalence of Hepatitis C virus, Malaria, HIV and their co-infection among 323 patients attending a Government Hospital in Benin City, Nigeria with the aim of raising awareness about these diseases and thus alerting public health authorities for necessary action. The whole manuscript is written in a way that is not too technical to understand, but scientific enough.
The methodology and sampling procedure adopted in this research seem to be quite straightforward too and reproducible by a third party researcher.
The results (high prevalence in the infections and the co-infection in a number of patients) obtained should be of interest to the medical community and public health experts, as they can ramp up testing frequency and thus, leading to the quick identification of those with these infections, leading to the effective management of these conditions and ultimately stem the rising tide.
The paper is presenting solid research results backed by convincing, in-depth explanations and comparisons with literature and I believe that it is a good candidate for consideration for publication in this journal
Oribhabor, G. O.
Department of Microbiology,
University of Benin,
Nigeria.
