HETEROSEXUAL TRANSMISSION OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS AMONG MARRIED-COUPLES IN SOUTHWESTERN JAPAN

The heterosexual transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains contr oversial, and data from general populations are scanty. In this cross- sectional study, we assessed the seroprevalence of antibodies to hepat itis C virus (anti-HCV) and the presence and genotype of HCV-RNA among 109 married couples within an endemic, community-based Japanese popul ation. Overall, 25% of the husbands and 32% of the wives had anti-HCV. Spouses with anti-HCV-positive partners were around 2 times more like ly to have anti-HCV than spouses with anti-HCV-negative partners (p = 0.01). Of 6 couples in which both spouses had HCV-RNA, however, 3 pres ented discordant HCV genotypes (type 1b vs. 2b). The couples' anti-HCV concordance status was not significantly influenced by the presence o r absence of HCV-RNA among anti-HCV-positive partners (odds ratio [OR] : 0.8 for wives, 0.6 for husbands), nor by the length of marriage, the number of pregnancies or the use of contraceptives. No significant as sociations with anti-HCV were observed for serum markers of sexually t ransmitted agents, including human T-lymphotropic virus (OR = 1.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.5-2.3), Treponema pallidum (OR = 0.7; CI 0 .1-6.1) and hepatitis B virus (OR = 1.6; CI 0.9-3.0). Our results sugg est that the clustering of HCV infection among specific couples within this endemic population may not be attributable to heterosexual trans mission. Follow-up studies are necessary to determine the risk of hete rosexual transmission of HCV in endemic areas. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, In c.