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Epidemiology and Infection logoLink to Epidemiology and Infection
. 1991 Dec;107(3):667–672. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800049360

Heterosexual and homosexual transmission of hepatitis C virus: relation with hepatitis B virus and human immunodeficiency virus type 1

R Corona, G Prignano, A Mele, G Gentili, F Caprilli, E Franco, L Ferrigno, A Giglio, F Titti, C Bruno, P Verani, P Pasquini
PMCID: PMC2272090  PMID: 1661241

Abstract

A seroprevalence study was carried out on 1757 outpatients consecutively seen in a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic in order to evaluate the sexual transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV). A total of 1442 consenting patients were tested for hepatitis C, hepatitis B and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HCV, HBV, HIV-1) antibodies. The relations between anti-HCV, anti-HBc and anti-HIV-1 were studied. Of 73 anti-HCV positive reactions, 45 (61·6%) were confirmed by the recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA). The proportion of individuals with anti-HCV was higher in outpatients with a history of sexually transmitted disease than without. It was 2·8% in non drug user heterosexuals and 2·9% in non drug user homosexuals. Intravenous drug users (IDU) had higher anti-HCV prevalence when a history of STD was taken into account (42·3% in subjects with STD versus 36·7% in subjects without STD). Among non drug user heterosexuals an association was found between anti-HCV and anti-HBc. These data suggest that sexual transmission of HCV occurs, although it seems to be less efficient than other parenteral modes of transmission. When a more sensitive and specific marker of HCV infection become available, a more accurate estimate of the frequency and efficiency of the sexual transmission will be possible.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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