Low Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Antibody in Men Who Have Sex with Men Who Do Not Inject Drugs

Abstract

Objective. It is well documented that injection drug users (IDUs) have a high prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV). Sexual transmission of HCV can occur, but studies have shown that men who have sex with men (MSM) without a history of injection drug use are not at increased risk for infection. Still, some health-care providers believe that all MSM should be routinely tested for HCV infection. To better understand the potential role of MSM in risk for HCV infection, we compared the prevalence of antibody to HCV (anti-HCV) in non-IDU MSM with that among other non-IDU men at sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) counseling and testing sites in three cities.Methods. During 1999-2003, public health STD clinics or HIV testing programs in Seattle, San Diego, and New York City offered counseling and testing for anti-HCV for varying periods to all clients. Sera were tested using enzyme immunoassays, and final results reported using either the signal-to-cutoff ratio or recombinant immunoblot assay results. Age, sex, and risk information were collected. Prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated.Results. Anti-HCV prevalence among IDUs (men and women) was between 47% and 57% at each site, with an overall prevalence of 51% (451/887). Of 1,699 non-IDU MSM, 26 (1.5%) tested anti-HCV positive, compared with 126 (3.6%) of 3,455 other non-IDU men (prevalence ratio 0.42, 95% confidence interval 0.28, 0.64). Conclusion.The low prevalence of anti-HCV among non-IDU MSM in urban public health clinics does not support routine HCV testing of all MSM.

Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Zagreb, Croatia

“…The cost of hepatitis A and B vaccination in currently not covered by the Croatian National Health Insurance system and depends on individual payment. The prevalence of hepatitis C infection in presumably noninjecting MSM in our study was 2.8% (8/344, 95% CI 0.8-4.6), which is relatively high compared to studies from the United Kingdom (0.9%) and USA (1.5%) (Balogun et al, 2003;Buffington et al, 2007). This might support the view that HCV can be sexually transmitted or it could indicate underreporting of IDU by MSM.…”

Hepatitis C virus in Pakistan: A systematic review ofprevalence, genotypes and risk factors

“…Two different reports from the USA and Congo indicate low HCV prevalence among commercial sex workers [67,68] . The main problems in Pakistan are illiteracy, lack of awareness about sexually transmitted diseases and low use of condoms among the sex workers.…”

Epidemic of Sexually Transmitted Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among HIV-Infected Men

“…Careful prospective studies of HCV-serodiscordant heterosexual partners (almost all of whom were HIV-uninfected) have not shown any transmission of HCV between them despite more than 9,000 person-years of observation [1][2][3]. Further, as recently as 2003, HCV seroprevalence in men who have sex with men (MSM) in various cities in North America was not increased [4]. Thus, little evidence existed for sexual transmission of HCV among MSM despite their very high risk of acquiring HIV, hepatitis B, syphilis, and other more traditional sexually transmitted infections (STI).…”