Sexual transmission of hepatitis C virus

Tengan, Fátima Mitiko; Eluf-Neto, José; Cavalheiro, Norma de Paula; Barone, Antonio

doi:10.1590/s0036-46652001000300003

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Moreover, there is some molecular evidence of sexual transmission of HCV [5,10]. This sexual transmission seems to be enhanced by highly at-risk sexual behaviour such as multiple casual partners (410 lifetime sexual partners) [11,[19][20][21][22], age of first sexual intercourse o18 years [11], anal intercourse [5,19,23], history of or current syphilis and gonorrhoea [7,19], herpes simplex type 2 infection [11], and HIV coinfection [7,9,12,16,24]. A recent cohort study in France reported an increase in at-risk sexual behaviour among HIV-infected patients [25], while another study indicated the return of syphilis and gonorrhoea among the same population [18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute hepatitis C in HIV‐infected men who have sex with men

Ghosn¹,

Pierre-François²,

Thibault

et al. 2004

HIV Medicine

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BackgroundHepatitis C virus (HCV) is usually transmitted via the parenteral route, but there are widely discrepant findings on its possible sexual transmission. Thus there are no recommendations concerning protected sex for couples in which only one partner is HCV-infected. Whether HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases could favour HCV transmission remains unclear, but recent data suggesting an increasing incidence of acute HCV in HIV-infected men underline the major public health implications of this issue. Case reportsBetween June 2002 and July 2003, five HIV-infected homosexually active men presented with primary (n 5 4) and secondary (n 5 1) syphilis and concomitant abnormal liver function tests revealing acute asymptomatic HCV seroconversion. Other causes of acute viral hepatitis were inquired into and excluded. Highly at-risk sexual behaviour, including unprotected anal intercourse and unsafe oral sex, with concomitant syphilis, was found to be the only identifiable important risk factor for transmission of HCV. ConclusionsSexual transmission may be fuelling a significant increase in HCV seroconversions among HIVinfected men who have highly risky sexual behaviours. Given the recent data suggesting the spread of sexually transmitted infections among HIV-infected gay men, specific recommendations concerning safe sex are urgently needed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute hepatitis C in HIV‐infected men who have sex with men

Ghosn¹,

Pierre-François²,

Thibault

et al. 2004

HIV Medicine

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“…Among the most important, TENGAN et al (2001) 84 evaluated 154 blood donors who presented a positive serological reaction for HCV and their sex partners. In this population, 11.76% of the partners were considered to be currently or previously infected by HCV, suggesting that the high prevalence of infection among these partners could be attributed partially to sexual transmission.…”

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confidence: 99%

Sexual transmission of hepatitis C

Cavalheiro

2007

Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo

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SUMMARYIt is generally agreed that the hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be efficiently transmitted parenterally, although data on viral transmission by sexual or non-sexual intrafamilial contact are conflicting. Since data collection began in 1989, the first study dealt with the risk of sexual transmission among multiple sex partners. Other investigations followed, emphasizing that risk increases in specific groups such as patients co-infected with HIV and HBV, sex workers, homosexuals, illicit drug users and patients attended at sexually transmittable disease clinics.The question arises as to what might be the risk for monogamous heterosexuals in the general population, in which one of the partners has HCV?The literature provides overall rates that vary from zero to 27%; however, most studies affirm that the chances of sexual transmission are low or almost null, with rates for this mode fluctuating from zero to 3%. Intrafamilial transmission is strongly considered but inconclusive, since when mentioning transmission between sex partners within the same household, specific situations also should be considered, such as the sharing of personal hygiene items, like razorblades, toothbrushes, nail clippers and manicure pliers, which are important risk factors in HCV transmission. In this review, we discuss the hypotheses of sexual and/or intrafamilial transmission.KEYWORDS: Hepatitis C; Transmission; Sexual; Intrafamilial.Patients infected by HCV frequently question whether their infection can be transmitted to their sexual partners, and whether HCV can be transmitted through sexual relations. Common sense suggests that HCV like HBV and HIV can be transmitted through sexual contact, but what is the degree of risk? Does it depend on the population studied? Can risk behavior alter contamination potential 27,34,74 ?Classically, parenteral exposition unites many risk factors that are relevant for HCV transmission, such as the use of illegal drugs, hemodialysis, blood transfusion and blood derivatives, tattoos, organ transplants, acupuncture, sharing of straws for drug inhalation, and accidents in health-care workers 12,26,49,58,71,89 .Convincing evidence for the sexual transmission of HCV requires a history of couples having lived together in sexual activity, the absence of other opportunities for infection, and genetic evidence on the virus, demonstrating that both partners are infected by a virus with very similar genomic sequences. The possession of quality information concerning these questions can aid in providing answers to these issues. However, few studies meet these criteria satisfactorily 22,69,85 . ALTER et al. (1989) 2 presented the first study in which the possibility of HCV transmission was discussed, and considered multiple sex partners as a risk factor. However, the contribution of sexually transmitted HCV remains controversial. In the United States, the Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that between 20 to 25% of the transmission indexes are associated with sexual contact, although ...

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“…Presently, HCV transmission occurs mainly through sharing needles and syringes [48]. Sexual transmission may also occur, but much less frequently than blood transmission and causing less impact on public health [11,49,50]. Other forms of HCV transmission reported in the literature, such as the shared use of inhaled drugs, tattoos, piercing, and vertical transmission, are less frequent and also have little impact on public health [11,48].…”

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confidence: 99%

Seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C in Brazilian army conscripts in 2002: a cross-sectional study

Toledo¹,

Greco²,

Felga³

et al. 2005

Braz J Infect Dis

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Hepatitis B and C constitute important public health problems worldwide. In Brazil, studies on prevalence of viral hepatitis have local and regional characteristics; consequently it is difficult to define the national epidemiological situation. Our objective was to evaluate the seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C in conscripts of the Brazilian Army. A transversal study among males aged 17 to 22 years was conducted nationwide. After informed consent, each volunteer filled in a social-behavioral questionnaire and had blood drawn to test for HBsAg and anti-HCV. A total of 7,372 volunteers were evaluated in the second half of 2002. The prevalence of HBsAg was 2.6% (95% confidence interval: 2.2, 3.0) and that of anti-HCV was 1.5% (95% confidence interval: 1.2, 1.8). A wide variation among macro regions and states in the same region was observed for both markers. In conclusion, although this population theoretically had a low risk for HBV and HCV infection, these results are higher than expected for this age range. These findings may indicate a change in the pattern of HBV and HCV transmission in Brazil. Due to the different dynamics of these epidemics, further studies are warranted to confirm these apparent trends.

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Sexual transmission of hepatitis C virus

Cited by 18 publications

References 33 publications

Acute hepatitis C in HIV‐infected men who have sex with men

Acute hepatitis C in HIV‐infected men who have sex with men

Sexual transmission of hepatitis C

Seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C in Brazilian army conscripts in 2002: a cross-sectional study

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