Changing Trends in International Versus Domestic HCV Transmission in HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Perspective for the Direct-Acting Antiviral Scale-Up Era
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Scale-up of direct-acting antiviral therapy is expected to abate hepatitis C virus (HCV) incidence among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive men who have sex with men (MSM). International transmission could influence this process. We classified HCV infections in HIV-positive MSM as either domestically or internationally acquired, and estimated how this classification changed over time. METHODS: HCV subtype 1a (the most frequent subtype among MSM) genomes from 99 persons enrolled in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study and diagnosed with replicating HCV infections, were sequenced. Sixty-six of these sequences were from MSM. We inferred maximum-likelihood phylogenetic trees and time trees containing a fragment of the NS5B region of these and 374 circulating strains. We inferred transmission clusters from these trees and used the country composition of such clusters to attribute infections to domestic or international transmission. RESULTS: Of HCV transmissions, 50% to 80% were classified as domestic depending on the classification criterion. Between 2000 and 2007, the fraction attributable to domestic transmission was 54% (range 0-75%). It increased to 85% (range 67%-100%) between 2008 and 2016. CONCLUSIONS: International and domestic transmission have played major roles in this epidemic. While international transmission persists, local transmission has established as the main source of infections.
Authors: Luisa Salazar-Vizcaya, Roger D Kouyos, Karin J Metzner, Kamila Caraballo Cortes, Jürg Böni, Cyril Shah, Jan Fehr, Dominique L Braun, Enos Bernasconi, Herbert A Mbunkah, Matthias Hoffmann, Niklaus Labhardt, Matthias Cavassini, Mathieu Rougemont, Huldrych F Günthard, Olivia Keiser, Andri Rauch, the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, V Aubert, M Battegay, E Bernasconi, J Böni, D L Braun, H C Bucher, A Calmy, M Cavassini, A Ciuffi, G Dollenmaier, M Egger, L Elzi, J Fehr, J Fellay, H Furrer, C A Fux, H F Günthard, D Haerry, B Hasse, H H Hirsch, M Hoffmann, I Hösli, C Kahlert, L Kaiser, O Keiser, T Klimkait, R D Kouyos, H Kovari, B Ledergerber, G Martinetti, Tejada B Martinez de, C Marzolini, K J Metzner, N Müller, D Nicca, G Pantaleo, P Paioni, A Rauch, C Rudin, A U Scherrer, P Schmid, R Speck, M Stöckle, P Tarr, A Trkola, P Vernazza, G Wandeler, R Weber, S Yerly
Institutions: University of Bern, University Hospital of Bern, University of Zurich, University Hospital Zurich, Medical University of Warsaw, Ospedale regionale di Lugano, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, University of Basel, University Hospital of Basel, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University Hospital of Geneva, University of Geneva
Language: English
Topic: Hepatitis C virus research
Subfield: Hepatology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,763
Awards: Understanding the HIV epidemic in Malawi: integrating quantitative and qualitative data in a mathematical model, The role of sexual behaviour dynamics and treatment-as-prevention in the spread of HIV, Hepatitis C and syphilis: Predicting the conditions for control and elimination, Swiss HIV Cohort Study, Using transmission networks for assessing and guiding prevention efforts in hiv, G6401315242, G6644291205, G8586152943
OpenAlex ID: W2913192002