Epidemic of sexually-transmitted HCV infection among HIV-infected men in NY City

Researchers in New York City are reporting that their work reveals a new epidemic of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) who have HIV infection. The same authors have previously reported unusually rapid fibrosis progression due to new HCV in MSM who have HIV infection and now expand on their findings, demonstrating that sexual transmission rather than injection drug use is the route of infection.

Despite treatment is highly successful if started early in the course of infection, researchers report ominous news about liver disease progression. Acording to researchers’ findibgs, this epidemic infection represents a new clinical syndrome for HCV infection that turns much of experts knowledge on its ear: a new risk group becoming infected through a previously rare route of transmission resulting in unprecedented progression of liver fibrosis.