Hepatitis C is an infectious disease affecting primarily the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV is spread primarily by blood-to-blood contact associated with intravenous drug use, poorly sterilized medical equipment, and transfusions. The virus persists in the liver in about 85% of those infected. Overall, 50–80% of people treated are cured. Those who develop cirrhosis or liver cancer may require a liver transplant. Hepatitis C is the leading reason for liver transplantation, though the virus usually recurs after transplantation. No vaccine against hepatitis C is available.
Increasing evidence suggests that hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmits sexually among men who have sex with men (MSM.) Publishing their findings in the Journal of Viral Hepatitis, researchers conducted a retrospective study in which they identified a large group of HIV-negative MSM with acute hep C at a large, urban British sexual health clinic between January 2010 and May 2014. The participants’ reports about their sexual or drug-using behaviors typically covered the previous three to six months: 93% of the men reported recent condom-less anal intercourse, with 88% reporting both insertive and receptive intercourse; the men reported an average of 7.3 partners, with a range of one to 100 and a median of two; 27% of the men said they had had group sex, and 25% reported engaging in fisting. It is noteworthy that only about one in five of the men said they had injected drugs, because that is the main alternative way they might have contracted hep C.