UK News

‘Hepatitis C linked to hard sex’

Some HIV positive gay men in London are being re-infected with sexually transmitted hepatitis C (HCV) rather than relapsing after treatments, it was reported last month. Speaking at the February CROI conference in Boston, Dr Rachel Jones, of London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, presented a study which revealed that some gay men with the virus were becoming sexually re-infected with HCV after they had already been successfully treated. There has been an epidemic of sexually acquired HCV infection reported among HIV positive gay men in London and Brighton in the last few years with infection occurring after frequent, unprotected and ‘hard’ sexual encounters, often under the influence of recreational drugs. The current outbreaks and re-infections underline the importance of using condoms, even if the sexual partner or partners also have HIV, experts say.

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