Publication:

Seroreactivity of HIV among patients attending a tertiary care hospital in North India: a retrospective analysis

Background HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the causative agent of AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). It belongs to the lentivirus subgroup of the family Retroviridae. The HIV/AIDS is spreading worldwide at an alarming rate. India has the third largest number of estimated people living with HIV/AIDS. Most common mode of HIV transmission is through heterosexual contact, blood transfusion, percutaneous, mucosal and perinatal mode. The present study was done to evaluate the seroreactivity of HIV among patients attending Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC) of our Tertiary care hospital.

Methods This retrospective study was conducted on data of patients who had attended ICTC and undergone HIV testing from January 2017 to January 2019. A total of 4519 patients were included in the study who gave their consent followed by pre-test and post-test counseling and were screened for HIV antibody by using rapid kit Comb-Aids.

Results Out of 4519 samples tested, 23 were reactive to HIV screening test, hence sero-reactivity of HIV was found to be 0.50%. Higher seroreactivity was seen among males (56.5%, 13/23), and patients aged 31-40 years (39.1%, 9/23). Maximum seroreactivity was found among patients of rural areas (73.9%, 17/23), indoor patients (91.3%, 21/23) and married patients (73.9%, 17/23).

Conclusions In this study the seroreactivity of HIV was found to be low among patients attending ICTC but still HIV continues to be a major contributor to the global burden of disease. ICTC data can be used as an important tool for planning and improving the national HIV/AIDS intervention strategy.