sexual transmission of hepatitis c virus
abstract
globally, the prevalence of hcv is estimated by the world health organization (2003) to
be 3% or approximately 170 million people and is anticipated to have a huge burden in future years
on those infected as well as on economic costs. hepatitis c is the leading cause of liver
transplantation, cirrhosis and liver carcinoma throughout the world.
objective: the purpose is to review literature sources to clarify the controversial subject of
sexual transmission of hepatitis and provide a resource tool for health care providers.
method: a search of electronic databases from 1991 to 2009 will be done and results summarized to
display current evidence.
findings: of the studies summarized in the pamphlet tool the percentage of seroconversion ranged
from 0% to 6% and of those that converted a number of them had other risk factors that may have
attributed to their results. studies did show that there are certain conditions that
increase the risk of sexual transmission above that of the general population.