Sherman, K.E.Rouster, S.D.Kong, L.X.Shata, T.M.Archampong, T.Kwara, A.Aliota, M.T.Blackard, J.T.2019-07-012019-07-012018-08DOI: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000001718http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/handle/123456789/31128Objective: To determine the prevalence and epidemiologic associations of Zika Virus (ZIKV) in HIV-infected patients in Ghana, West Africa. Methods: We examined the seroprevalence of ZIKV in HIV/HBV co-infected persons in Ghana from sera samples collected from 2012 to 2014 using ELISA assays and plaque reduction neutralization tests (PRNT). Results: Overall, ZIKV antibody was detected in 12.9% of 236 tested samples, though the true estimate of exposure is probably less due cross-reactions with other related viruses. PRNTs were performed on a subset to provide an estimate of the frequency of false positive reaction. Dengue virus testing was also performed and antibody prevalence was 87.2%. The median CD4 count was 436 (range 2-1781 cell/mm) and did not affect antibody results. Regional geographic ethnicity was associated with ZIKV exposure. Discussion: Overall, these data suggest that ZIKV infection is a relatively prevalent infection in HIV-positive persons in Ghana though not as common as dengue. Further evaluation of the effect of ZIKV and HIV co-infection is warranted given the large geographical overlap of populations exposed to both viruses.enArticle