Prevalent and incident hepatitis C virus infections among participants in a pre-exposure prophylaxis program in Taiwan.
Journal
Journal of the Formosan Medical Association = Taiwan yi zhi
ISSN
0929-6646
Date Issued
2025-06-14
Author(s)
Abstract
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.
Subjects
HCV elimination
Men who have sex with men
Microelimination
Pooled-plasma HCV RNA testing
Sexually transmitted infection
Type
journal article