Sustained Effect on Hepatitis C Elimination Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study: A Systematic Re-Screening for Hepatitis C RNA Two Years Following a Nation-Wide Elimination Program.

BACKGROUND

The Swiss HCVree Trial (NCT02785666) was conducted in 2015-2017 with the goal of implementing a population-based systematic hepatitis C virus (HCV) micro-elimination program among men who have sex with men (MSM) with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) enrolled in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS). The trial led to a 91% and 77% decline of HCV prevalence and incidence, respectively. The long-term effect of this HCV micro-elimination program is yet to be explored.

METHODS

All MSM enrolled in the SHCS were screened for HCV RNA using stored plasma samples obtained in 2019, termed "Swiss HCVree Post" screen. The incidence of HCV infection over time was assessed using additional information on HCV testing routinely collected in the SHCS. Characteristics of participants with replicating HCV infection were analyzed.

RESULTS

The point-prevalence of "Swiss HCVree Post" (N = 4641) was 0.6%, reflecting a decline of 48% compared to the end of the Swiss HCVree Trial where the prevalence was 1.2%. Further, the incidence of HCV among MSM in the SHCS declined from 0.31/100 person-years (py) (95% confidence interval [CI] [.17, .55]) in 2017 to 0.19/100 py (95% CI [.09, .39]) in 2019.

CONCLUSIONS

A systematic HCV RNA-based screening among MSM with HIV conducted 2 years after the Swiss HCVree Trial revealed a sustained effect and further decline of the prevalence and incidence of replicating HCV infection. This indicates that the Swiss HCVree Trial was successful in curbing the HCV epidemic among MSM with HIV in Switzerland.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION

NCT02785666.

Informations de copyright

© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [e-mail].

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Potential Conflicts of interest. J. S. F. reports support for this work from Merck. M. S. reports support for attending meetings and/or travel from Gilead Sciences; and participation on an advisory board (payment to institution) for Gilead Sciences, MSD, and ViiV Health Care. L. S. V. reports grants or contracts from the Swiss National Science Foundation unrelated to this work (324730_179567). R. D. K. reports grants or contracts unrelated to this work from the Swiss National Science Foundation, Gilead Sciences, and the National Institutes of Health. H. F. G. reports grants or contracts unrelated to this work (payments to institution) from the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, the Yvonne Jacob Foundation, and Gilead research grant (COVID-19); and participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for Merck, Gilead, ViiV, Janssen, and Novartis (payments to author). J. S. F. reports grants or contracts unrelated to this work from Gilead Sciences Switzerland Sàrl and ViiV Healthcare GmbH; and a leadership or fiduciary role on the Federal Commission for Issues relating to Sexually Transmitted Infections (FCSTI). K. D. reports grants or contracts unrelated to this work from Gilead Sciences (paid to institution); consulting fees paid to institution by MSD; and payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events paid to institution by MSD. A. R. reports an investigator initiated trial grant from Gilead Sciences unrelated to this work (paid to institution); support for attending meetings and/or travel by Gilead Sciences and Pfizer (paid to institution); and participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for Gilead Sciences and MSD (paid to institution). D. L. B. reports consulting fees unrelated to this work from ViiV, Merck, and Gilead (paid to author); and payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from ViiV, Merck, and AbbVie (paid to author). E. B. reports grants or contracts from Merck Sharp and Dohme unrelated to this work (paid to institution); support for attending meetings and/or travel from Merck Sharpe and Dohme, Pfizer AG, Gilead Sciences, and ViiV Healthcare (all paid to institution) and Abbvie (reimbursement made to author); and participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for Merck Sharp and Dohme, Gilead Sciences, ViiV Healthcare, and Pfizer AG (all payments made to institution). M. O. reports support for attending meetings and/or travel from Bayer (payments made to institution to pay registration fees for meeting). All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.