Vertical Transmission of Hepatitis C Virus Among Women with a History of Injection Opioid Use

John M Cafardi; Hong T Lin; Lana Lange; Lacey Kelley; Kelly Lemon; Elizabeth A Odegard; Heidi L Meeds; Jason T Blackard; Judith Feinberg

doi:10.1093/cid/ciae177

Vertical Transmission of Hepatitis C Virus Among Women with a History of Injection Opioid Use

Clin Infect Dis. 2024 Apr 5:ciae177. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciae177. Online ahead of print.

Authors

John M Cafardi¹, Hong T Lin², Lana Lange³, Lacey Kelley⁴, Kelly Lemon⁵, Elizabeth A Odegard², Heidi L Meeds², Jason T Blackard², Judith Feinberg⁶

Affiliations

¹ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, The Christ Hospital and the Lindner Research Institute, Cincinnati, OH USA.
² Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH USA.
³ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Christ Hospital, Cincinnati, OH USA.
⁴ Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV USA.
⁵ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV USA.
⁶ Departments of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry & Medicine/Infectious Diseases, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV USA.

PMID: 38576379
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciae177

Abstract

We evaluated vertical transmission and linkage to care in women with HCV and history of injection drug use employing co-localized testing and treatment. Transmission occurred in 1 of 23 infants, with mother-infant genetic distance of 1.26%. Rates for infant testing, maternal linkage and cure were 77%, 52%, and 100%, respectively.

Keywords: hepatitis C; phylogenetic analysis; pregnancy; vertical transmission.