The incidence rate of HCV among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) was significantly higher than that found in HIV-negative MSM and the general population, according to a study published in Digestive and Liver Disease.
Sexual transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is uncommon in the general population, but evidence indicates that its rate is higher in people living with HIV and that HIV-positive MSM who practice condomless sex have been shown to be at increased risk for sexually-acquired HCV, according to Gianluca Cuomo, MD, and his colleagues at the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Modena (Italy), Infectious Diseases Clinic.
Courtesy U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Dr. Cuomo and his colleagues assessed 442 HIV-positive MSM outpatients who were antibody negative to HCV-Ab at first observation who were entered into a Kaplan-Meier model in order to assess the HCV infection incidence rate. Prevalence analysis was performed with HIV-positive MSM who were on follow-up at 2016. An HIV-negative MSM population served as a control.
“Our study indicates an incidence rate of HCV among MSM living with HIV of 0.44 cases per 100 patient-years with a global prevalence of 9%, both of which are significantly higher than that of non-HIV MSM and the general population,” Dr. Cuomo and his colleagues found (Digestive and Liver Disease; 2018, [doi.org/10.1016/j.dld.2018.05.021]).
“Early management and treatment of HCV infection and behavioral interventions could reduce HCV transmission. Annual screenings for HCV and other sexually transmitted diseases should be performed for HIV MSM patients,” the researchers concluded.
Dr. Cuomo and his colleagues reported that they had no disclosures.
SOURCE: Cuomo, G., et al. Digestive and Liver Disease (2018), [doi.org/10.1016/j.dld.2018.05.021].