HCV viremia and HIV coinfection Increase Maternal transmission of HCV, Study finds

New research revealed that pregnant women with detectable Hepatitis C viremia have an increased incidence of maternal-to-child transmission (MTCT) of the virus. The risk is further elevated if the carrying mother has a viral load ≥6 log10 copies/ml or HIV coinfection. The study was published in the 'Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.'  

Mother-to-Child transmission of Hepatitis C virus infection is less common. But it can increase in case of increased viral load. To find the factors increasing the mother-to-child transmission of HCV, researchers conducted a study to assess the association between maternal hepatitis C virus (HCV) viral load and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection and the risk for mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) among pregnant women infected with HCV. 

Using keywords, a literature search was done in various databases like Medline, Embase, Central, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science (CPCIS), Scopus, Literature Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS), and WHO Global Index Medicus databases, from inception to June 21, 2022. All the studies that reported the incidence of HCV-MTCT were included. Pooled effect estimates were calculated using the random-effects model and Holm-Bonferroni correction was performed for multiple pooled associations.