Hepatitis C virus infection among sexually transmitted disease clinic attendees infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1: a survey in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

Abstract

Objective To estimate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus （HCV） infection among sexually transmitted disease （STD） clinic attendees infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 （HIV-1） in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Methods Totally, 11 553 blood plasma samples were collected from STD clinic attendees in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and subjected to HIV-1 antibody screening and confirmatory testing. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was performed to detect anti-HCV antibodies in 140 anti-HIV-1 antibody-positive samples and 282 anti-HIV-1 antibody-negative samples from age- and marital status-matched attendees. Chi-square test was performed to assess the differences in the prevalence rate of HCV infection between anti-HIV-l-negative and -positive samples, and Logistic regression analysis to evaluate the risk factors for HCV and HIV co-infection. Results The positivity rate of anti-HCV antibodies was 33.57% （47/140） among anti-HIV-l-positive samples, significantly higher than that in anti-HIV-l-negative samples （1.06% （3/282）, X2 = 94.66, P 〈 0.05）. Logistic regression analysis showed a statistical increase in the prevalence of HCV/HIV co-infection in individuals reporting more than one sexual partners compared with those reporting only one sexual partner （OR = 2.4, 95% CI （1.0-5.6）, P = 0.05） , and in intravenous drug users compared with non-intravenous drug users （OR = 20.8, 95% CI（5.7-76.5）, P 〈 0.05）. Conclusions HCV infection appears to be associated with HIV-1 infection, and comprehensive intervention on HIV-l-infected patients may slow down HCV transmission.