Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection has emerged as a leading cause of morbidity due to liver disease throughout the world in the last two decades. Among the HIV infected patients, HBV and HCV co-infections are more prevalent due to overlapping transmission routes3. The introduction of highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has led to a marked reduction in the morbidity and mortality and has resulted in increased survival in HIV infected patients3,4. Consequently, the importance of co-morbidities such as chronic liver disease due to HBV and HCV infection is being recognized as significant problems. HIV infection modifies the natural history of chronic parenterally acquired hepatitis C with unusually rapid progression to cirrhosis. Overall survival of HIV positive patients is not affected by the presence of HCV. However, HCV predisposes to death from liver failure

In co-infection, the presence of one virus impacts the natural history of the other virus. HIV accelerates the natural course of HBV and HCV infection and facilitates faster progression of liver disease to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Disease progression to cirrhosis in HIV positive patients is almost three-times faster as compared to HIV negative patients4,5,6. Most of the studies in HIV-HBV and HIV-HCV co-infected patients have been conducted among western patient populations. Understanding HBV and HCV co-infection with HIV is particularly important in Asian countries due to high background prevalence of HBV and HCV9. The present study was undertaken with the objective to assess the presence of HBV or HCV co-infection in HIV infected patients at a tertiary care centre in southern India.