HCV and HIV co-infection in pregnant women attending St. Camille Medical Centre in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)

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J Med Virol. 2004 Dec 15;75(2):209-212 [Epub ahead of print]

HCV and HIV co-infection in pregnant women attending St. Camille Medical

Centre in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).

Simpore J, Ilboudo D, Samandoulougou A, Guardo P, Castronovo P, Musumeci S.

Laboratoire Saint Camille de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Unite de Formation

et de Recherche/SVT, Universite de Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Five hundred and forty-seven pregnant women with less than 32 weeks of

amenorrhoea, attending an antenatal clinic of St. Camille Medical Centre

(SCMC) of Ouagadougou were enrolled for a hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV

co-infection study. Fifty-eight (10.6%) were HIV positive and 18 (3.3%) were

anti-HCV positive. Only seven pregnant women (i.e., 1.3%) had a documented

HIV and HCV co-infection. HCV-RNA was found in 5 out of 18 (27.8%) patients,

who had anti-HCV antibodies. The genotype analysis of these five patients

showed that two were of 1b whereas three were of 2a genotype.

Mother-to-infant transmission of the same HCV genotype (2a) was documented

in only one case. High 1b prevalence has been reported in other parts of

Africa, while 2a is the prevalent genotype (60%) in Burkina Faso. This

genotype has a higher response rate to treatment. Serum transaminases were

normal, also in presence of HCV-RNA. The higher than expected rate of

co-infection in Burkina Faso seems to demonstrate a correlation between

these two infections, which could influence the evolution of HIV and HCV

diseases. J. Med. Virol. 75:209-212, 2005. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

PMID: 15602740