PubMed · 2007 · 15 citations · 0 references
Life SciencesImmunologyInfectious DiseasesInfectious Disease EpidemiologyMedical MicrobiologyVirologyHiv EpidemiologyPrevention Of Sexual TransmissionSexually Transmitted InfectionsViral DiagnosticsViral EpidemiologyViral HepatitisHepatitis C InfectionHepatitis C Virus TransmissionHiv Serologic TestingHuman Immunodeficiency Virus TransmissionRetrospective Case StudySexual Transmission Dynamics
AIM: To determine the prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a cohort of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) and to compare risk factors. METHODS: Multicenter retrospective study from infectious diseases department in Tunisia. We examined sera from HIV patients followed in these centers. Diagnosis of HCV infection was based on third generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. RESULTS: 362 HIV-1 patients were included in the study. The mean age was 35,5 years. 272 patients (75.13%) were male. Sexual transmission of HIV was the main risk factor (56.3%). 144 patients (39.7%) had antibodies against HCV, mainly in patients with history of intravenous drug abuse (78.4%). Quantitative evaluation of hepatitis C virus RNA was done only in 3 patients. CONCLUSION: HCV-HIV coinfection in tunisian patients occurs frequently, due to the same ways of transmission. More studies are needed to focus on sexual transmission of hepatitis C virus in order to prevent such infections rather than interferon-based therapies.