Reactive arthritis has a strong association with which infection?

• A. Hepatitis B
• B. Epstein-Barr virus
• C. HIV
• D. Human papillomavirus

Answer: (C)

Reactive arthritis is an inflammatory joint condition that develops after an infection elsewhere in the body, typically triggered by genitourinary infections like Chlamydia trachomatis or by certain gastrointestinal bacteria. It belongs to the seronegative spondyloarthropathy family and is influenced by immune factors, including HLA-B27.

Among the infections listed, HIV has the strongest documented association with reactive arthritis. HIV infection can alter immune function in ways that predispose to inflammatory joint disease, and reactive arthritis has been described in people with HIV, sometimes with a more variable or amplified course. This makes HIV the most plausible association in this context.

Hepatitis B, Epstein-Barr virus, and human papillomavirus are not commonly linked with reactive arthritis as a triggering or associated condition in the same way HIV is, so they’re not the best fits for this specific link.