Agent, Host, and Environment: Hepatitis C Virus in People Who Inject Drugs

Agent, host, and environment: hepatitis C virus in people who inject drugs.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is hyperendemic worldwide in people who inject drugs (PWID) [1]. HCV prevalence rates in PWID typically vary between 40% and 90%, and incidences may fall between 20 and 40 infections per 100 person-years [2–6]. In high-income countries, half of PWID are infected with HCV within 5 years following onset of drug injection, and in lowand middle-income countries, half may be ...

Hepatitis C virus vaccines among people who inject drugs.

Most people who inject drugs (PWID) are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), and PWID have the highest risk of HCV infection of any risk group. The incidence of HCV infection is 5%-25% per year, demonstrating continued need for HCV infection prevention in PWID. Existing data in chimpanzees and PWID suggest that protective immunity against persistent HCV infection is achievable. Due to the hig...

to new hepatitis C therapies for people who inject drugs

Hepatitis C virus transmission in people who inject drugs: swabs may not be the main culprit.

TO THE EDITOR—We read with interest the recent article by Thibault et al [1], which described laboratory analyses of injection equipment collected from people who inject drugs in France. In particular, the detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in 80% of pooled samples of alcohol and cotton swabs raises concerns about the possible role of swabs in HCV transmission. While the accompanying edit...

Hepatitis C virus serosorting in people who inject drugs: sorting out the details.

In developed countries such as the United States, hepatitis C virus (HCV) is primarily transmitted between people who inject drugs (PWID) due to the combination of high existing prevalence in the population, HCV’s high infectivity, and repeated exposures to multiple potential contaminated sources of both drug preparation and administration equipment [1–3]. Although HCV incidence has declined si...