Authors
Shruti H Mehta, Andrea Cox, Donald R Hoover, Xiao-Hong Wang, Qing Mao, Stuart Ray, Steffanie A Strathdee, David Vlahov, David L Thomas
Publication date
2002/4/27
Journal
The Lancet
Volume
359
Issue
9316
Pages
1478-1483
Publisher
Elsevier
Description
Background
Neither previous hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection nor vaccination with HCV-derived antigens protects against reinfection. However, HCV infection and vaccination in chimpanzees has been shown to reduce the magnitude and duration of viraemia with re-challenge. We aimed to establish whether similar immunity could be achieved in man.
Methods
From a study of injecting drug users, we identified 164 people who had no evidence of previous HCV infection and 98 individuals who had been previously, but were not currently, infected with HCV. We compared the incidence and persistence of HCV viraemia in these two groups over four consecutive 6-month periods.
Findings
Of participants without previous infection, the incidence of HCV infection was 21% (35/164). By contrast, people previously infected were half as likely to develop new viraemia (12% [12/98]), even after accounting for risk behaviour …
Total citations
Scholar articles
SH Mehta, A Cox, DR Hoover, XH Wang, Q Mao, S Ray… - The Lancet, 2002