Behich KOYUTOURK, Melis KALAYCI, Ertan DİRENÇ, Kaya SÜER
Cyprus Journal of Medical Sciences - 2026;11(4):290-296
BACKGROUND/AIMS: To assess five-year seroreactivity trends of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Northern Cyprus, with emphasis on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and post-pandemic periods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study evaluated 278,016 serological test results for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti-HCV, and anti-HIV between 2020 and 2024. All tests were carried out using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technology on the ARCHITECT Plus ci4100 system (Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, IL, USA). The annual rate of seroreactivity was calculated and compared across years and sex groups. The results were also categorised based on signal-to-cut-off (S/CO) ratios for HCV and HIV and on IU/mL for HBsAg. RESULTS: Overall seroreactivity rates were 1.2% for HBsAg, 0.6% for anti-HCV, and 0.2% for anti-HIV. HBV seroreactivity declined significantly from 1.5% in 2020 to 1.0% in 2023-2024 (p=0.001). HCV prevalence remained below 1%, increasing non-significantly from 0.5% to 0.7% (p=0.192); most positive samples fell within the low S/CO category. HIV prevalence remained stable at 0.2% across the study period (p=0.043). CONCLUSION: HBV seroreactivity exhibited a declining trend over the years; HCV levels remained low but exhibited a rising trend; HIV levels remained stable and low. The results indicate that Northern Cyprus remains a low-endemic region and highlight the importance of sustained surveillance and prevention in the post-COVID-19 era. The results need to be interpreted cautiously, as they may not entirely indicate the levels of infection.
