Junaid Akhtar, Usman Qamar, Abdul Hakeem, Abdul Waheed, Faiza Sarwar, Jaweria Anwar.
Sero-prevalence of HBV and HCV in tuberculous patients at Sheikh Zayed Hospital Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan.
Biomedica Jan ;29(2):69-72.

Introduction: Infections due Hepatitis B and C with co-infection tuberculosis are important health issues all over the world. In TB patients, viral hepatitis infection increases risk of drug related hepatotoxicity up to three to five times more than TB patients which do not have viral infection. The study was designed to determine the frequency of Hepatitis B and C among the tuberculous patients admitted at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan. Methodology: This is descriptive and cross sectional study which was conducted at Sheikh Zayed Hospital Rahim Yar Khan from September 2011 to April 2012.Blood samples were collected from TB patients aseptically from Pulmonology Department Sheikh Zayed Hospital Rahim Yar Khan. HBsAg and anti HCV antibodies were detected using ICT and ELISA techniques according to SOP of the kit manual. Results: Among the 110 TB positive patients,5.5% were positive for HBsAg and 9.1% were positive for anti HCV antibodies using ELISA technique. Whereas, 5.5% HBsAg and 10% anti HCV antibodies were positive using ICT. The transmission of HBV and HCV was expected to have occurred were mostly found in barber shop and during ear nose piercing (30%), blood transfusion (20%), visit to quack (10%) as indicated from the history. Detection rate of HCV using ELISA is greater than ICT method. Male to female ratio 1:1 and age mean was 42 with standard deviation 18.2. Conclusion: We found a relatively increased frequency of HBV and HCV among TB patient. Therefore TB patients should also be screened for HBV and HCV for better management of the conditions.

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