Description:
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Several previous studies have reported a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among commercial sex workers (CSWs), but the situation is often compounded by coexisting factors, such as intravenous drug use. The authors conducted a seroepidemiologic study of 1,527 female CSWs in South Korea. All participants tested negative for human immunodeficiency virus and were not illicit intravenous drug users (IDUs). Twenty-one participants (1.4%) were positive for antibodies to HCV. According to the multivariate logistic regression analysis, a history of acupuncture and diabetes mellitus were associated with the seroprevalence of HCV, whereas time spent as a CSW showed only borderline significance. Sexual activity was not an independent predictor of increased risk for HCV infection in female CSWs who had never been illicit IDUs.
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 74 (6), 2006, pp. 1117-1121 . |
