Relationship of CD4+ T-cell counts and plasma HIV-1 RNA levels with serological HBeAg/anti-HBe patterns obtained in West-African HBV-HIV-1-co-infected children.

HBeAg/anti-HBe and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA from 34 HIV-1-infected children from Ivory Coast with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) were longitudinally analyzed according to CD4 and HIV-1 RNA. The mean CD4% value was significantly (p = 0.03) lower in 59 (52.7%) samples showing a usual CHB (HBeAg-positive/anti-HBe-negative and HBV DNA-positive), as compared with 30 (26.8%) HBeAg-positive/anti-HBe-positive and HBV DNA-positive and 23 (20.5%) HBeAg-negative/anti-HBe-positive and HBV DNA-negative (15.1% vs. 18.5% and 20.0%). The mean HIV-1 RNA concentrations were significantly (p = 0.01) higher in specimens HBV DNA-positive (4.47 and 4.30 log(10)/ml, respectively) vs. HBV DNA-negative (3.43 log(10)/ml). HIV-1 has a significant impact on CHB acquired in childhood.