Hepatitis C virus co-infection and influencing factors among newly reported HIV concordant couples in Dehong Prefecture of Yunnan Province from 2016 to 2019

Objective To determine the characteristics and influencing factors of hepatitis C virus （HCV） co-infection among HIV concordant couples in Dehong Prefecture.

Methods Using the data of newly reported HIV concordant couples in Dehong Prefecture from 2016 to 2019， we collected the demographic characteristics， exposure history， and HCV infection to determine the characteristics of HCV co-infection among HIV concordant couples.

Results Among the 160 HIV concordant couples included in the study， 46 （28.8%） males and 14 （8.8%） females were co-infected with HCV. The prevalence of HIV-HCV co-infection was higher among the male spouses who were diagnosed less than 40， Jingpo ethnic， Burmese， illiteracy， farmers， and intravenous drug users. In contrast， the prevalence of HIV-HCV co-infection was higher among the female spouses who were diagnosed less than 40， Jingpo ethnic， and Burmese. Logistic regression analysis among male spouses showed that the Jingpo ethnic and intravenous drug users had higher risk of HCV co-infection.

Conclusion HIV concordant couples in Dehong Prefecture have high prevalence of HIV-HCV co-infection. Effective intervention strategies should be developed based on ethnic-specific factors and exposure characteristics among male and female spouses of HIV concordant couples.