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Echoing past findings coming largely
from Europe, a report from the Fenway Institute in Boston finds a high, 1.6
percent annual incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among its large
population of HIV-positive gay men; researchers there speculate sexual
transmission and non-injection drug use were the most likely causes, according
to aidsmap. Publishing their findings in the online edition of Clinical
Infectious Diseases, the researchers conducted a retrospective study of all men
with HIV who came to the clinic at least twice between June 2008 and June 2009.
The investigators then drew data from the patients’ files to ascertain both the
prevalence and the incidence of hep C infection between 2007 and 2009.
Of the 1,160 HIV-positive gay men
included in the cohort, 1,059 (91 percent) had at least one test for hep C. A
total of 379 men who had more than one test became infected with the virus,
across 1,408 person-years of follow-up, for an incidence of 1.6 cases per 100
person-years. A third of those men with prevalent and incident hep C reported
injection drug use, while 46 percent reported non-injection drug use (cocaine
was the most common) and 16 percent said they had not used drugs.
The investigators speculate that
traumatic sexual practices such as fisting may aid in hep C transmission among
this population. Non-injection drugs are another potential source, considering,
for example, that cocaine straws can serve as a conduit for the virus between
nasal passages.
The authors recommend that
HIV-positive gay men test annually for hep C and that those who use
recreational drugs or engage in unprotected sex should receive sexual risk
reduction education.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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