Epidemiology of Hepatitis C Virus in HIV Patients from West Mexico: Implications for Controlling and Preventing Viral Hepatitis

• Published in: Pathogens (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 5; p. 360
• Main Authors: Jose-Abrego, Alexis, Trujillo-Trujillo, Maria E, Laguna-Meraz, Saul, Roman, Sonia, Panduro, Arturo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.05.2024
• Subjects: Aspartate aminotransferase; Bilirubin; Blood transfusion; Care and treatment; CD4 antigen; Comorbidity; Diagnosis; Epidemiology; Fibrosis; Genotype & phenotype; Genotypes; genotypes/subtypes; Hepatitis; Hepatitis C; Hepatitis C virus; HIV; HIV (Viruses); Hospitals; Human immunodeficiency virus; Infections; Laboratories; Liver; Liver cirrhosis; liver damage; Maximum likelihood method; prevalence; Risk factors; Sample size; Sexually transmitted diseases; STD; Viruses; Mexico; United States > US; prevalence; risk factors; mutations; HIV; genotypes/subtypes; hepatitis C virus; liver damage
• ISSN: 2076-0817; 2076-0817
• DOI: 10.3390/pathogens13050360

The complex epidemiology of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients in West Mexico remains poorly understood. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the HCV prevalence, HCV-associated risk factors, and HCV genotypes/subtypes and assess their impacts on liver fibrosis in 294 HIV patients (median age: 38 years; 88.1% male). HCV RNA was extracted and amplified by PCR. Hepatic fibrosis was assessed using three noninvasive methods: transient elastography (TE), the aspartate aminotransferase (AST)-to-platelets ratio index score (APRI), and the fibrosis-4 score (FIB4). Patients with liver stiffness of ≥9.3 Kpa were considered to have advanced liver fibrosis. HCV genotypes/subtypes were determined by line probe assay (LiPA) or Sanger sequencing. The prevalence of HIV/HCV infection was 36.4% and was associated with injection drug use (odds ratio (OR) = 13.2; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 5.9-33.6; < 0.001), imprisonment (OR = 3.0; 95% CI = 1.7-5.4; < 0.001), the onset of sexual life (OR = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.5-4.5; < 0.001), blood transfusion (OR = 2.5; 95% CI = 1.5-4.2; = 0.001), tattooing (OR = 2.4; 95% CI = 1.4-3.9; = 0.001), being a sex worker (OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.0-5.4; = 0.046), and surgery (OR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.0-2.7; = 0.042). The HCV subtype distribution was 68.2% for 1a, 15.2% for 3a, 10.6% for 1b, 3.0% for 2b, 1.5% for 2a, and 1.5% for 4a. The advanced liver fibrosis prevalence was highest in patients with HIV/HCV co-infection (47.7%), especially in those with HCV subtype 1a. CD4+ counts, albumin, direct bilirubin, and indirect bilirubin were associated with liver fibrosis. In conclusion, HCV infection had a significant impact on the liver health of Mexican HIV patients, highlighting the need for targeted preventive strategies in this population.