Hepatitis C Virus: No Evidence of Sexual Transmission of HCV Among Monogamous Couples

[Guest guest]

Hepatitis C Virus: No Evidence of Sexual Transmission of HCV Among Monogamous Couples

July 27, 2004

Carmen Vandelli and colleagues evaluated the risk of sexual transmission of hepatitis C (HCV) infection among monogamous heterosexual couples. The long-term prospective study, which provided a follow-up period of 8,060 person-years, followed 895 monogamous heterosexual partners of HCV chronically infected individuals. "Seven hundred and seventy-six (86.7%) spouses were followed for 10 years, corresponding to 7,760 person-years of observation," the researchers said. "One hundred and nineteen (13.3%) spouses (69 whose infected partners cleared the virus following treatment and 50 who ended their relationship or were lost at follow-up) contributed to an additional 300 person-years," they added. All of the study couples denied practicing condom use, anal intercourse or sex during menstruation, and their average weekly rate of intercourse was 1.8. According to the researchers, "Three HCV infections were observed during follow-up corresponding to an incidence rate of 0.37 per 1,000 person-years. However, the infecting HCV genotype in one spouse (2a) was different from that of the partner (1b), clearly excluding sexual transmission. The remaining two couples had concordant genotypes, but sequence analysis of the NS5b region of the HCV genome, coupled with phylogenetic analysis showed that the corresponding partners carried different viral isolates, again excluding the possibility of intraspousal transmission of HCV." Vandelli and colleagues concluded that the collected data indicate an "extremely low or even null" risk of sexual transmission of HCV within heterosexual monogamous couples. Therefore, "no general recommendations for condom use seem required for individuals in monogamous partnerships with HCV infected partners." The full report, "Lack of Evidence of Sexual Transmission of Hepatitis C Among Monogamous Couples: Results of a 10-Year Prospective Follow-Up Study," was published in American Journal of Gastroenterology (2004;99(5):855-859).

http://www.thebody.com/content/art26675.html