Incident Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among US HIV-infected Men Enrolled in Clinical Trials

Background: Outbreaks of sexually transmitted hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have been reported among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected men who have sex with men in Europe, Australia, and New York. Whether this is occurring across the United States is unknown.

Methods: We determined incidence of HCV infection during 1996-2008 among male participants of the AIDS Clinical Trial Group Longitudinal Linked Randomized Trials cohort, a long-term study of HIV-infected persons randomized into selected US-based clinical trials. We evaluated associations with self-reported injection drug use (IDU), time-varying CD4(+) cell count, and HIV RNA level with use of multivariate Poisson regression. No sexual or non-IDU risk factor data was available.

Results: A total of 1830 men had an initial negative HCV antibody test result and at least 1 subsequent HCV antibody test result, contributing >7000 person-years. At the time of the initial negative HCV antibody test result, 94% of men were receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and 6% reported current or prior IDU. Thirty-six seroconverted, with overall incidence of .51 cases per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval, .36-.70). Mean age at seroconversion was 46 years. Seroconversion was associated with IDU (25% of seroconverters reported IDU history vs 5% of nonseroconverters; P < .001), whereas 75% (n = 27) of seroconverters reported no IDU (incidence, 2.67 cases per 100 person-years among IDUs, .40 cases per 100 person-years among non-IDUs). Seroconversion was associated with HIV RNA level >400 copies/mL (44% at time of antibody positivity vs 21% at time of last negative antibody test result; P = .02) but not with CD4(+) cell count.

Conclusions: Incident HCV infection occurs in HIV-infected men involved in US HIV therapeutic trials, primarily through nonparenteral means, despite engagement in care and HAART. HCV antibody development was not related to immune status but was associated with inadequate HIV suppression. At-risk HIV-infected persons should have access to HCV surveillance.