HIV Positive Children Are Also Likely to Be Infected with Hepatitis B or C Virus

Due to overlapping transmission routes including shared use of drug injection equipment and sexual transmission many adults with HIV are also infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and/or hepatitis B virus (HBV).

HIV positive children are also at high risk for HBV and HCV coinfection, according to a brief report in the September 15, 2007, issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Like HIV, HBV can be transmitted from mother-to-child during pregnancy or delivery, but can be prevented if the mother receives appropriate treatment. HCV can also be transmitted perinatally, and the risk is higher if the mother had a high HCV viral load or is coinfected with HIV.

S.S. Toussi from the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx (New York City) and colleagues evaluated the prevalence and mode of transmission of hepatitis B and C in an inner-city cohort of children with HIV.

They found that 13 of 288 HIV positive children (5.8%) also had HBV and/or HCV.
In conclusion, the authors wrote, "This analysis suggests that chronic hepatitis is prevalent and should be routinely screened for in the pediatric HIV-infected population."

09/14/07

Reference
S S Toussi, J Abadi, M Rosenberg, and others. Prevalence of hepatitis B and C virus infections in children infected with HIV. Clinical Infectious Diseases 45(6): 795-798. September 15, 2007.