AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, July 21, 2003
Michael Greer, Senior Medical Writer

Robert Paris and colleagues with the U.S. and Thai components of the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences in Bangkok, Sattahip District Hospital in Chon Buri province and the Provincial Health Office in Rayong province conducted a study to determine "the association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV-1, and HCV seropositivity as an indicator of HIV-1 risk behavior for HIV vaccine preparatory cohorts in Thailand."

HCV seropositivity was strongly associated with HIV infection in vaccine study volunteers, especially among patients who reported injection drug use (IDU), Paris and coauthors found.

HIV and HCV coinfection was present in almost 51% of HIV-positive male study participants, the researchers said. By contrast, the coinfection rate was less than 4% for female HIV+ participants, and the HCV rate among HIV-negative male controls was just over 8%.

More than 96% of the male study participants who reported IDU were HCV seropositive, according to the report. HCV seropositivity was strongly associated with HIV infection in male, but not female participants.

IDU was also strongly associated with HIV infection after the initial data analysis, but this association was not significant after adjusting for confounding variables (The association between hepatitis C virus and HIV-1 in preparatory cohorts for HIV vaccine trials in Thailand. AIDS. 2003 Jun 13;17(9):1363-7).

"The surprisingly high prevalence of HCV among HIV-1-infected young men may assist health policy makers in the choice of behavioral interventions for this important subgroup of the population," Paris and colleagues concluded.

The corresponding author for this report is Robert Paris, Department of Retrovirology, Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, U.S. Component, 315/6 Rajvithi Rd, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.

Key points reported in this study include:

1. Hepatitis C coinfection is common in male HIV patients who volunteer for vaccine research in Thailand.
2. HCV seropositivity was strongly associated with HIV infection in male vaccine study volunteers, especially among patients who reported injection drug use (IDU).
3. HIV and HCV coinfection was present in almost 51% of HIV-positive male study participants, and more than 96% of the male study participants who reported IDU were HCV seropositive.

This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.

Reference

Paris R, Sirisopana N, Benenson M, et al., "The association between hepatitis C virus and HIV-1 in preparatory cohorts for HIV vaccine trials in Thailand", AIDS. 2003 Jun 13;17(9):1363-7.

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