Estimation of the risk of transmission of hepatitis C between spouses in Egypt based on seroprevalence data.
BACKGROUND
Transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) between spouses could be due to sexual contact, sharing needles, or other routes. There is uncertainty regarding the degree to which HCV is transmitted between spouses.


METHODS
Data from a 1997 cross-sectional serological survey of HCV in two communities in Egypt were used to estimate the risk of transmission between spouses by simultaneously modelling the probabilities of community acquisition and spousal transmission of HCV as functions of known predictors.


RESULTS
We estimate that the probability of wife-to-husband transmission was 34% (95% CI: 15-49%) and 10% (95% CI: 0-26%) for anti-HCV-positive wives with and without detectable HCV RNA, respectively. The probability of husband-to-wife transmission was estimated to be 3% (95% CI: 0-13%) and 0% (95% CI: 0-9%) for husbands with and without detectable HCV RNA, respectively, at the time of the survey. There was moderate evidence that the probability of wife-to-husband transmission differed from that of husband-to-wife transmission (P = 0.076), and there was greater risk of transmission from those with detectable RNA at the time of the survey (P = 0.046). We estimate that 6% of those infected acquired HCV from their spouse.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study results support the possibility that HCV is transmitted between spouses in Egypt. Further research is needed to identify the exact routes of transmission so that preventive measures can be instituted.
Magder
Laurence S
LS
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 660 W. Redwood Street, Baltimore, MD 21201-1596, USA. lmagder@epi.umaryland.edu
Fix
Alan D
AD
Mikhail
Nabiel Nh
NN
Mohamed
Mostafa K
MK
Abdel-Hamid
Mohamed
M
Abdel-Aziz
Fatma
F
Medhat
Ahmed
A
Strickland
G Thomas
GT
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D018454:Spouses
D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies