title: Estimation of the risk of transmission of hepatitis C between spouses in Egypt based on seroprevalence data.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: 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
authors.forename: Laurence S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Magder
authors.forename: Alan D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Fix
authors.forename: Nabiel Nh
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Mikhail
authors.forename: Mostafa K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdel-Hamid
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abdel-Aziz
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Medhat
authors.forename: G Thomas
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Strickland
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies