ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

I.S. Ndams1 , I.A. Joshua2, S.A. Luka1, H.O. Sadiq1, S. Adewumi1 and E. Bawa3
1Department of Biological Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
2University Health Services, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
3Department of Microbiology, Ahmadu Bello University, Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria.
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2009;3(2):473-476
© The Author(s). 2009
Received: 18/02/2009 | Accepted: 21/04/2009| Published: 31/10/2009
Abstract

Abnormalities of liver function are common in HIV, HBV and HIV and HBV co- infection in developed countries. Serum assays of albumin, total protein (TP), total bilirubin (TB), serum activities of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and serum electrolytes was investigated. The study was conducted between 1st October and 30th November 2007 to compare the above mentioned parameters in pregnant women 10 with HIV, 10 with hepatitis B virus, and 3 with hepatitis B and HIV co-infections. The mean ages for the women were 29.00 (HIV), 25.20(HBV), 23.30 (HIV -HBV co-infection) and 22years for the control. The findings were compared with 10 reference subjects who were negative to the antibodies produced by HIV and HBV. The activities of serum alanine transaminase (p < 1.20E -06), aspartate transaminase (p< 1.83E -06),total protein(p < 0.002) and alkaline phosphatase (p < 0.006) observed in HIV, HBV and HIV and HBV co infection were significantly higher than those in the reference group. No significant differences were observed with the urea, electrolytes in all the 3 classes of the subjects. Therefore, it may be concluded that the increase in the liver enzymes is most likely due to impairment of the liver in HIV and hepatitis B and C infections. Since the principal routes of HIV and hepatitis are similar, it is therefore advisable to screen for these viruses in all pregnant women and their sexual partners at the earliest.

Keywords

Pregnant women, Blood chemistry, Liver enzymes, HIV, Hepatitis B, Co-infection

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© The Author(s) 2009. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.