High prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus infection among people who use crack cocaine in an important international drug trafficking route in Central-West Region Brazil

In this study, the prevalence rate, associated risk factors and genetic diversity of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were determined among people who use crack from an international drug trafficking route in Central-West, Brazil. Blood samples were collected from 700 users of crack from Campo Gran...

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Published in:	Infection, genetics and evolution Vol. 85; p. 104488
Main Authors:	Castro, Vivianne de Oliveira Landgraf de, Kamili, Saleem, Forbi, Joseph C., Stabile, Andréa Cristina, da Silva, Elizeu Ferreira, do Valle Leone de Oliveira, Sandra Maria, de Carvalho, Paula Renata Tedesco, Puga, Marco Antonio Moreira, Tanaka, Tayana Serpa Ortiz, do Lago, Bárbara Vieira, Ibanhes, Mary Luiza, Araujo, Aufra, Tejada-Strop, Alexandra, Lin, Yulin, Xia, Guo-Liang, Sue, Amanda, Teles, Sheila Araújo, Motta-Castro, Ana Rita Coimbra
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-11-2020
Subjects:	Brazil Crack cocaine Hepatitis C virus Molecular epidemiology Crack cocaine Molecular epidemiology Brazil Hepatitis C virus
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Summary:	In this study, the prevalence rate, associated risk factors and genetic diversity of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were determined among people who use crack from an international drug trafficking route in Central-West, Brazil. Blood samples were collected from 700 users of crack from Campo Grande and two border cities of Mato Grosso do Sul State and tested for HCV infection using serological and molecular testing methodologies. Anti-HCV was detected in 31/700 (4.5%, 95% CI: 2.9–6.0%) and HCV RNA in 26/31 (83.9%) of anti-HCV positive samples. Phylogenetic analysis of three HCV sub-genomic regions (5’UTR, NS5B and HVR-1) revealed the circulation of 1a (73.9%), 1b (8.7%) and 3a (17.4%) genotypes. Next-generation sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of intra-host viral populations of HCV HVR-1 showed a significant variation in intra-host genetic diversity among infected individuals, with 58.8% composed of more than one sub-population. Bayesian analysis estimated that the most recent common HCV ancestor for strains identified here was introduced to this region after 1975 following expansion of intravenous drug use in Brazil. Multivariate analyses showed that only ‘ever having injected drugs' was independently associated with HCV infection. These results indicate an increasing spread of multiple HCV strains requiring public health intervention, such as harm reduction, testing services and treatment among crack users in this important border region of Central Brazil. •The prevalence of anti-HCV among people who use crack is 26 times higher than among the blood donors in the same region.•NGS and phylogenetic analysis showed a significant variation in intra-host genetic diversity among infected individuals.•The bayesian analysis estimated that the most recent common HCV ancestor was introduced after 1975.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1567-1348 1567-7257
DOI:	10.1016/j.meegid.2020.104488