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. 2022 Jul;29(7):529-535.
doi: 10.1111/jvh.13678. Epub 2022 Apr 12.

Low incidence and prevalence of hepatitis C in two cohorts of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis adherence interventions in men who have sex with men in Southern California

Adiba Hassan  1   2 , Harold Glenn San Agustin  3 , Leah Burke  1 , Ryan Kofron  4 , Katya Corado  5 , Robert Bolan  6 , Raphael J Landovitz  4 , Michael P Dubé  3 , Sheldon R Morris  1
Affiliations

Low incidence and prevalence of hepatitis C in two cohorts of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis adherence interventions in men who have sex with men in Southern California

Adiba Hassan et al. J Viral Hepat. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been associated with incident hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in men who have sex with men (MSM) due to decreased condom use. We examined rates of HCV among MSM and transgender women at high-risk of HIV on PrEP in Southern California using data from two trials (NCT01761643 and NCT01781806). Five of 599 participants (0.84%, 95% CI, 0.27-1.93) had HCV antibodies detected at entry. Factors associated with HCV seropositivity included being older (p = .002) and lower education level (p < .001). HCV-positive participants had no reported cases of sexually transmitted infection (rectal, urethral or pharyngeal gonorrhoea and/or chlamydia) at entry while HCV-negative participants had a prevalence of 18% (95% CI, 15%-21%). There were no significant differences in substance use and sexual risk behaviour between HCV-positive and HCV-negative participants 1-3 months prior to entry. Among early PrEP adopters, incident HCV did not occur despite ongoing condomless intercourse. Screening intervals for HCV in MSM on PrEP should be led by a risk behaviour assessment.

Keywords: MSM (men who have sex with men); PrEP; hepatitis C.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author Disclosure Statement: No competing financial interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow chart of study participants.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
A) Number of cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia among Hepatitis C negative participants by visit week, and B) Prevalence and 95% confidence intervals of sexually transmitted infections (positive for gonorrhea, chlamydia or both) among Hepatitis C negative participants by visit week.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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