Co-Infection by Hepatitis C Virus in HIV-Infected Patients in Southern Brazil: Genotype Distribution and Clinical Correlates

Abstract

BackgroundPrevalence rates of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) co-infection, the distribution of HCV genotypes, and the frequency of spontaneous resolution of hepatitis C in patients infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) have a worldwide disparity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of HCV antibodies (anti-HCV) in patients with HIV, the proportion and correlates of infection by different HCV genotypes, and rates of spontaneous resolution of HCV infection.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 1143 HIV patients under follow-up in a HIV/AIDS outpatient reference center of the Brazilian public health system. From 357 anti-HCV positive patients, a consecutive sample of 227 individuals HCV treatment-naïve was interviewed and 207 was tested for HCV-RNA and genotypes.ResultsAnti-HCV was detected in 357 patients (31.2%). HCV-RNA was undetectable in 16.4% of 207 anti-HCV positive individuals. Genotype 1 was diagnosed in 81.5% of the sample, genotype 2 in 1.7% and genotype 3 in 16.2%. Male gender was the unique characteristic associated with higher prevalence of genotype 1 HCV.ConclusionsCo-infection by HCV is frequent among patients with HIV in our State, and it is particularly high the infection by HCV genotype 1. Further investigation is necessary to explain the important regional variation in the proportion of infection by the different HCV genotypes and to better understand rates of spontaneous HCV clearance.

Antiretroviral therapy does not affect response to chronic hepatitis C therapy in HIV-coinfected patients

“…However, such findings have not been confirmed by other authors [24,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. In the present study, we also found no significant difference in SVR between patients who used PI or NNRTI, or even when NRTIs were individually evaluated.…”

“…These elevated SVR rates can be explained by the smaller proportion of genotype 1 patients (about 50%), while in the present study, this genotype represented more than 80% of the patients, which is in accordance with epidemiological data in our region [36].…”

IL28BPolymorphism Associated with Spontaneous Clearance of Hepatitis C Infection in a Southern Brazilian HIV Type 1 Population

“…12 Our results showed a prevalence of 23.6% of HIV-1/HCV coinfection, similar to previous findings in other HIV-1 Brazilian populations. 13,14 Between 20% and 30% of individuals monoinfected with HCV have spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C after the acute phase. 15 The rate of spontaneous resolution appears to be lower in patients coinfected with HIV-1.…”

The persistence of hepatitis C virus transmission risk in China despite serologic screening of blood donations

“…In recent years, outbreaks of HCV infections in health care settings due to contaminated medical equipment continue to occur, expanding epidemics of injection drug users (IDUs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in China . The high prevalence of HCV among IDUs and HIV‐infected individuals as well as the high prevalence of HCV and HIV coinfection among IDUs are also increasing . These data, in addition to the known efficiency of HCV transmission through injection, the popularity of therapeutic acupuncture in China, and the frequent use of medical injection (both intravenous [IV] and intramuscular) in medical clinics, as well as the fact that HCV testing is not part of routine health screening, highlight the potential threat incurred by HCV to public health and the safety of blood supply in China.…”