HCV Infection Rate Seems Low in At-Risk Women

[Guest guest]

HCV Infection Rate Seems Low in At-Risk Women

By Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 03 - New data from the Women's Interagency HIV

Study (WIHS) suggest that the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection

is low among women with, or at risk for, HIV-1 infection. The data also

suggest that HCV is now almost exclusively linked to drug use, and often

resolves.

Dr. Augenbraun from the State University of New York-Downstate

Medical Center in Brooklyn and the multicenter WIHS team retrospectively

screened 1517 stored serum samples for HCV antibody and viremia from a group

of initially HIV-infected, HCV-uninfected women and from HIV-uninfected,

HCV-uninfected women.

" These women were being followed prospectively as part of a large study of

the natural history of HIV infection in women, " Dr. Augenbraun told Reuters

Health. " The point was to try to find women not infected with HCV who

subsequently developed infection. "

Not many of them did, the researcher said. Over a 3- to 4-year period, only

22 (1.5%) of 1517 exhibited HCV seroconversion. Of these, only 14 truly

acquired HCV as determined by enzyme immunoassay and new-onset viremia. Dr.

Augenbraun admitted that he was " surprised that so few women " acquired HCV

infection.

The HCV incidence rate in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women was 2.7 and

3.3 cases per 1000 person-years, respectively. " Not surprisingly, " Dr.

Augenbraun said, " most of the women that acquired HCV had a history of drug

use. "

He also noted that in several HIV/HCV-coinfected women, " the appearance of

HCV antibody took many months to years after the appearance of virus in the

serum. "

Moreover, " a large portion of HCV-infected women (42%) appeared to durably

clear HCV from their serum, a percentage considerably in excess of current

estimates, " Dr. Augenbraun pointed out.

Writing in the November 15th issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, the

researchers suggest that clinicians " maintain a high index of suspicion of

HCV infection for individuals at risk and consider repeated antibody

testing, as well as HCV RNA testing, when such individuals have negative

results of a single antibody study. "

[Guest guest]

" Drug Use " !?!?!?!?!?!? What a crock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!