The summaries are free for public
use. The Chronic Liver Disease
Foundation will continue to add and
archive summaries of articles deemed
relevant to CLDF by the Board of
Trustees and its Advisors.
Abstract Details
Sexually Acquired Hepatitis C Infection in HIV-uninfected Men Who Have Sex with Men Using Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Against HIV
1
Division of Liver Diseases, University of California, San Francisco.
2
San Francisco AIDS Foundation, San Francisco.
3
NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City.
4
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, New York City.
5
Division of Infectious Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City.
Abstract
Sexually-acquired HCV infections among HIV-uninfected men who have sex with men (MSM) have been rare. With the introduction of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV, we hypothesized that these infections would increase. Between 2013 and 2018 we diagnosed 15 likely sexually-acquired HCV infections among 14 MSM using PrEP. Most (87%) were asymptomatic, detected by routine ALT or HCV monitoring. Half reported increasing sex partners and drug use after starting PrEP; 5 reported injection of methamphetamine. Interventions are needed to prevent sexually-acquired HCV infections by MSM using PrEP. CDC guidelines for monitoring during PrEP should include regular ALT and HCV testing.