Abstract

ELRASHDY, Fatma et al. Incidence of hepatitis C virus infection among people living with HIV: An Egyptian cohort study. South. Afr. j. HIV med. (Online) [online]. 2022, vol.23, n.1, pp.1-5. ISSN 2078-6751.  https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhivmed.v23i1.1442.

BACKGROUND: Egypt used to have one of the highest hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection prevalence rates worldwide, with an estimated HCV prevalence of around 4.5% to 6.7%. OBJECTIVES: To determine the HCV infection incidence rate amid Egyptian patients living with HIV. METHOD: A total of 460 HIV-positive patients were recruited in a retrospective cohort study from Imbaba Fever Hospital, Cairo, between January 2016 and March 2019. The patients had a negative baseline and at least one other HCV antibody test. Hepatitis C virus antibody testing was done by antibody sandwich third-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The hepatitis C virus infection incidence rate among HIV-infected patients was calculated using the person-time incidence rate RESULTS: Two hundred and eighteen patients were finally included: 146 (31.7%) patients were excluded for having a positive baseline HCV Ab result and 96 patients were excluded for not having a follow-up HCV Ab test. Eighteen patients had HCV seroconversion (8.3%), achieving an incidence rate of 4.06 cases per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval: 3.87-4.24). Injection drug use (IDU) was the commonest risk factor among seroconverters, with an HCV incidence rate of 7.08 cases per 100 person-years. Injection drug use history was reported in 83.3% of the seroconverters and in only 47.2% of non-seroconverters; P = 0.005. CONCLUSION: Egyptian HIV-infected patients show a high incidence rate of HCV infection especially among those who have a history of IDU. Accordingly, attention should be paid for prevention, screening and timely treatment of HCV in patients infected with HIV What this study adds: The demonstration of a high HCV infection incidence rate among HIV-infected patients and shows the need for screening and prevention in this population.

Keywords : incidence rate of HCV; HCV screening; people living with HIV; Egypt; IDU; HCV seroconversion.

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