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Rates and characteristics of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in persons with hepatitis C virus infection
Author(s) -
Butt Adeel A.,
Yan Peng
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
liver international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.873
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1478-3231
pISSN - 1478-3223
DOI - 10.1111/liv.14681
Subject(s) - virology , covid-19 , medicine , betacoronavirus , pandemic , sars virus , hepatitis c virus , hepatitis a virus , virus , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty) , disease
Background Rate of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and impact of liver fibrosis stage upon infection rates in persons with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are unknown. Methods We retrospectively analysed the Electronically Retrieved Cohort of HCV Infected Veterans (ERCHIVES), a well‐established database of HCV‐infected Veterans in care. We excluded those with missing FIB‐4 score and those with HIV or hepatitis B virus co‐infection. We determined the number of persons tested, proportion who tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 and the infection rate by age and liver fibrosis stage. Results Among 172,235 persons with HCV, 14,305 (8.3%) were tested for SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and 892 (6.2%) tested positive. Those with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection were older, more likely to be Black (55.2% vs 37.8%), obese (body mass index >30 kg/m 2 36.2% vs 29.7%) and have diabetes or stroke ( P < .0001 for all comparisons). Mean FIB‐4 scores and proportion of persons with cirrhosis (based on a FIB‐4 > 3.25) were similar in both groups. Incidence rate/1,000 tested persons was much higher among Blacks (88.4; 95% CI 81.1, 96.2) vs Whites (37.5; 95% CI 33.1, 42.4) but similar among those with cirrhosis (FIB‐4 > 3.25). The rates were also similar among those who were untreated for HCV vs those treated with or without attaining a sustained virologic response. Conclusions Testing rates among persons with HCV are very low. Persons with infection are more likely to be Black, have a higher body mass index and diabetes or stroke. The degree of liver fibrosis does not appear to have an impact on infection rate.