Hepatitis C virus infection in a sexually active inner city population. The potential for heterosexual transmission.

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and associated risk factors in an inner city sexually active heterosexual population participating in a prospective study for the evaluation of heterosexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) were examined. Individuals with prior history of injection drug use or receipt of blood products were excluded from the study. Of 571 participants, 25 (4.4%) were seropositive for HCV, 39 (7%) for HIV, and 125 (22%) for hepatitis B virus (HBV). Multivariate analysis revealed that those with more than ten heterosexual partners in the past 5 years (OR = 3.7; 95% CI = 1.3, 10.2; P = 0.01), engaging in sexual practices more than once per week (OR = 3.3; 95% CI = 1.1, 10.1; P = 0.04), with antibody to hepatitis B core (HBc) antigen (OR = 2.9; 95% CI = 1.1, 7.4; P = 0.03), and antibody to HIV-1 (OR = 5.8; 95% CI = 1.9; 17.6; P = 0.002) were independently associated with HCV infection. These findings suggest that heterosexual transmission of HCV may occur in an inner city sexually active heterosexual population.