Hepatitis C among risk groups for HIV and hepatitis B

Autor: J Vincke, Jean Plum, Rudolf P. Mak, S Vanderschueren, Chris Verhofstede, L. Van Renterghem
Rok vydání: 1991
Předmět:
Zdroj: International journal of STDAIDS. 2(3)
ISSN: 0956-4624
Popis: In order to obtain more information on sexual transmission of hepatitis C (HCV) we compared different high-risk groups for HIV and hepatitis B to see if they were seropositive for HCV. A high seroprevalence (38/81) of hepatitis C (HCV) was found among intravenous drug users. Nursing staff ( n = 35) and patients of a dialysis unit ( n = 57) had a low prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies (0% and 5%, respectively). Serology laboratory technicians also had a very low prevalence (0% out of 29). Among prostitutes ( n = 114), healthy homosexual men ( n = 132) and HIV-infected homosexual men ( n = 31), we found a remarkably low seroprevalence of HCV (3.5%, 0.8% and 0.0% respectively). These data support the view that parenteral exposure to the virus is the most important way of acquiring the infection and that neither heterosexual nor homosexual promiscuity are associated with a high risk of transmission of hepatitis C.
Databáze: OpenAIRE