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Improved prevention, control for HIV/HCV coinfection recommended in Asia
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The prevalence of HIV and hepatitis C virus coinfection across South Asia and Southeast Asia is widely variable, but epidemics of coinfection have become more frequent and call for comprehensive prevention and control strategies, according to recent study findings.
In a literature review, researchers identified 13 papers published in 2012 and 2013 on HIV/HCV coinfection in South Asia and Southeast Asia that included data on rates of coinfection prevalence and risk factors. These included one retrospective study, one case-control study and 11 cross-sectional studies. The sample populations in the studies ranged from 126 to 16,124.
The researchers found that among HIV-infected individuals in South Asia and Southeast Asia, the overall HIV/HCV coinfection prevalence ranged broadly from 1.2% to 98.5%. In Nepal, 5.75% of HCV seropositive blood donors had HIV coinfection. One of the most significant risk factors of coinfection was injection drug use (IDU); among HIV-positive IDUs in Vietnam, the coinfection rates reached as high as 89.8% and 98.5%.
According to the researchers, these findings underscore the “urgency” of improving the prevention and control of coinfection.
“The serious epidemics of [HIV/HCV coinfection] should be emphasized in the prevention and treatment of both diseases in Asia, as there was less published research and fewer evidence prevention strategies compared to Western nations,” the researchers wrote. “Coinfection may accelerate the clinical progress to both diseases, and treatment success for one disease is undermined when the other disease is neglected.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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