Prevalent and incident hepatitis C virus infections among participants in a pre-exposure prophylaxis program in Taiwan

作者：Miao‐Hui Huang, Guan‐Jhou Chen, Kuan‐Yin Lin, Wang-Da Liu, Li‐Hsin Su, Hsin‐Yun Sun, Chien‐Ching Hung · 发表于：Journal of the Formosan Medical Association · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.jfma.2025.06.021 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Hepatitis C virus research、Hepatitis B Virus Studies、HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk

To better understand the burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM) in Taiwan, we conducted a prospective surveillance study of HCV viremia and bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among users of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV. Between 2018 and 2024, a total of 603 individuals participated in the national PrEP program. The baseline HCV seroprevalence was 1.2%, and no incident cases of HCV viremia were observed among the 364 participants enrolled in this surveillance study with 311.58 person-years of follow-up, giving the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval estimated to be 0.96 per 100 person-years. In contrast, 69 episodes of bacterial STIs were recorded, corresponding to an incidence rate of 22.14 per 100 person-years, indicating ongoing high-risk sexual behaviors in this population. These findings underscore the need for continued surveillance and strengthened prevention strategies to advancing efforts toward HCV elimination.