Sexual transmission in hcv

Introduction: Chronic hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection is responsible for almost one third cases of cirrhosis which require liver transplantation as the definitive treatment which in developing country like India, is not easily accessible due to limited centres and specialists for the same. There are various routes of transmission for HCV, many of them are well documented but certain like sexual one requires more in depth researches for determining its exact contribution in transmission. Aims and Objectives: To determine the sexual transmission in HCV confirmed patients. Materials & Methods: It was prospective study conducted at Department of Medical Gastroenterology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, over a period of ten years from 1st January, 2014 to 31st December, 2024. Out of ten thousand patients of Chronic hepatitis C who reported in department in last ten years duration, 800 patients pre therapy HCV RNA was not detected; hence they were excluded from the study. Out of the remaining 9200 patients, 200 patients never got their spouses checked for HCV infection, hence they were also excluded from the study. The remaining 9000 confirmed patients of Chronic hepatitis C in whom spouses got checked for HCV antibody and RNA test were included in the study. Results: Out of the 9000 patients in whom spouses were checked for HCV infection,635 (7.05%) were found to be HCV positive and 8365 (92.95%) were HCV negative. Conclusion: The sexual route cannot be missed as an important route, especially in those who have other co-risk factors.