title: Heterosexual transmission of hepatitis C virus among married couples in southwestern Japan.
abstract: The heterosexual transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains controversial, and data from general populations are scanty. In this cross-sectional study, we assessed the seroprevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) and the presence and genotype of HCV-RNA among 109 married couples within an endemic, community-based Japanese population. Overall, 25% of the husbands and 32% of the wives had anti-HCV. Spouses with anti-HCV-positive partners were around 2 times more likely to have anti-HCV than spouses with anti-HCV-negative partners (p = 0.01). Of 6 couples in which both spouses had HCV-RNA, however, 3 presented discordant HCV genotypes (type 1b vs. 2b). The couples' anti-HCV concordance status was not significantly influenced by the presence or absence of HCV-RNA among anti-HCV-positive partners (odds ratio [OR]: 0.8 for wives, 0.6 for husbands), nor by the length of marriage, the number of pregnancies or the use of contraceptives. No significant associations with anti-HCV were observed for serum markers of sexually transmitted agents, including human T-lymphotropic virus (OR = 1.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.5-2.3), Treponema pallidum (OR = 0.7; CI 0.1-6.1) and hepatitis B virus (OR = 1.6; CI 0.9-3.0). Our results suggest that the clustering of HCV infection among specific couples within this endemic population may not be attributable to heterosexual transmission. Follow-up studies are necessary to determine the risk of heterosexual transmission of HCV in endemic areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: S O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Stuver
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ikematsu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okayama
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tachibana
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirohata
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kashiwagi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsubouchi
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Mueller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000635:transmission*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral