From hivandhepatitis.com

SUMMARY: Sexual transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) among HIV positive men who have sex with men has now been recognized for a decade, occurring in cities in Europe, North America, and Australia. Since acute HCV outbreaks occur almost exclusively among men with HIV, being HIV positive probably plays a critical role, according to the authors of a review article in the July 31, 2010 issue of AIDS.

Thijs van de Laar from the Amsterdam Public Health Service and colleagues presented an overview of acute HCV infection among gay/bisexual men with HIV, including epidemiology, risk factors, natural history, disease progression, and challenges of management. The review was based on published studies identified through a MEDLINE search and relevant conference abstracts.

HCV Transmission

HCV is usually transmitted through direct blood contact, for example, via shared needles for injection drug use (IDU) or blood transfusions before donated blood was screened. Due to common transmission routes, an estimated 4-5 million people -- or approximately one-third of people with HIV -- are HIV/HCV coinfected.

Sexual transmission of HCV was traditionally thought to be uncommon (less than 1%) based on studies of monogamous heterosexual couples. Early cross-sectional studies found a relatively high HCV prevalence rate among men who have sex with men (MSM), but these often did not take into account injection drug use.

Read the full review on hivandhepatitis.com.

See the original article in AIDS, Official Journal of the International AIDS Society.