Coinfection with Hepatitis C Virus among HIV-Positive People in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal (Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care)

Background: Previous research has studied the rate of hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection among HIV-positive people regardlessof their antiretroviral therapy (ART) status. Our objectives were to measure the seroprevalence of HCV both in HIV-positivepeople receiving ART and in those not receiving ART and to describe the characteristics of coinfected people in the KathmanduValley, Nepal. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 319 HIV-positive people residing in the Kathmandu Valley,Nepal. We screened the participants’ serum samples for HCV antibodies using the Latex Photometric Immunoassay based onthird-generation assay. Results: A total of 138 (43.3%) participants were HCV positive. The prevalence of HCV coinfectionwas 96.2% (125 of 130) among participants with lifetime injection drug use (IDU). Among participants not receiving ART, thecoinfection rate was 58.1% (50 of 86) compared with 37.8% (88 of 233) among those receiving ART. In multivariable analysis,participants who reported lifetime IDU and were current smokers were more likely to have HCV coinfection. The adjusted oddsratio (AOR) of HCV coinfection for ART was decreased, although it was not statistically significant (AOR ¼ 0.45; 95% confidenceinterval ¼ 0.13-1.48). Conclusion: The high prevalence of HCV coinfection among both individuals receiving ART and thosenot receiving ART suggests that screening for HCV among HIV-positive people would be useful, in particular, for those with lifetimeIDU and soon after their HIV diagnosis