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
The rate of hepatitis C reinfection in Canadians coinfected with HIV and its implications for national elimination
Int J Drug Policy. 2023 Apr;114:103981. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.103981. Epub 2023 Mar 7.
1Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, 5252 Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montreal, Quebec H4A3S5, Canada; Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Suite 1200, Montreal, Quebec H3A1G1, Canada. Electronic address: james.young2@mcgill.ca.
2Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, 5252 Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montreal, Quebec H4A3S5, Canada.
3Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, 5252 Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montreal, Quebec H4A3S5, Canada; Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Suite 1200, Montreal, Quebec H3A1G1, Canada.
4Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, 725 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa K1Y4E9, Canada.
5Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Suite 1200, Montreal, Quebec H3A1G1, Canada; Division of Infectious Diseases and Chronic Viral Illness Service, Department of Medicine, McGill University Health Centre, 1001 Boulevard Décarie, Montreal, Quebec H4A3J1, Canada.
6Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, Calgary, Alberta T2N1N4, Canada.
7BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, 608-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Colombia V6Z1Y6, Canada.
8Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 6 Queen's Park Crescent West, Toronto. Ontario M5S3H2, Canada.
9Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N5E5, Canada.
10Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, 5252 Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montreal, Quebec H4A3S5, Canada; Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Suite 1200, Montreal, Quebec H3A1G1, Canada; Division of Infectious Diseases and Chronic Viral Illness Service, Department of Medicine, McGill University Health Centre, 1001 Boulevard Décarie, Montreal, Quebec H4A3J1, Canada; CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network, 608-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z1Y6, Canada.
Abstract
Background: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set targets for the rate of new infections as a way to measure progress towards the elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a public health threat. As more people are successfully treated for HCV, a higher proportion of new infections will be reinfections. We consider whether the reinfection rate has changed since the interferon era and what we can infer about national elimination efforts from the current reinfection rate.
Methods: The Canadian Coinfection Cohort is representative of HIV HCV coinfected people in clinical care. We selected cohort participants successfully treated for a primary HCV infection either in the interferon era or in the era of direct acting antivirals (DAAs). Selected participants were followed from 12 weeks after completing a successful treatment until the end of 2019 or until their last measured HCV RNA. We estimated the reinfection rate in each treatment era, overall and in participant subgroups, using proportional hazard models appropriate for interval censored data.
Results: Among 814 successfully treated participants with additional HCV RNA measurements, there were 62 reinfections. The overall reinfection rate was 2.6 (95% confidence interval, CI, 1.2-4.1) /100 person years (PY) in the interferon era and 3.4 (95% CI 2.5-4.4) /100 PY in the DAA era. The rate in those reporting injection drug use (IDU) was much higher: 4.7 (95% CI 1.4-7.9) /100 PY and 7.6 (95% CI 5.3-10) /100 PY in the interferon and DAA eras respectively.
Conclusion: The overall reinfection rate in our cohort is now above the WHO target set for new infections in people who inject drugs. The reinfection rate in those reporting IDU has increased since the interferon era. This suggests Canada is not on track to achieve HCV elimination by 2030.
Stay Informed!
