The rate of re-infection with hepatitis C has fallen sharply among people with HIV in Europe since the introduction of direct-acting antivirals, the EuroSIDA cohort study reports in the journal HIV Medicine.
People who are cured of hepatitis C by interferon-based treatment or direct-acting antivirals do not acquire immunity against subsequent infections. Sharing of injecting equipment or condomless anal sex can lead to re-infection and studies have reported high rates of re-infection in some settings. Most of these findings have come from cohorts of gay and bisexual men with HIV in Western Europe and North America. Reported re-infection rates in people who inject drugs have been much lower. There is little evidence on re-infection rates in eastern Europe.
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