Hepatitis C virus transmission dynamics in injection drug users

Holly Hagan

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) presents several challenges to the development of prevention programs. HCV infection is persistent in up to 80% of cases, and viremic individuals may transmit infection to others. With 65-90% of injection drug users anti-HCV positive, a large reservoir of infection exists in most drug-injector populations. Studying the genetic variability of HCV infections could permit researchers to reconstruct chains of viral transmission in IDUs. However, the relationship of HCV to HIV epidemiology remains unclear and may depend on whether the proportions of infectious persons in the population are similar for both viruses.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1197-1212
Number of pages16
JournalSubstance Use and Misuse
Volume33
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1998

Keywords

  • Drug injection
  • Epidemiology
  • Hepatitis viruses
  • Molecular epidemiology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Health(social science)
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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