Secondary Attack Rate of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)

The transmission routes of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) are categorized as horizontal and vertical. The former includes sexual contact, parenteral exposure, and intrafamilial transmission, while the latter pertains to mother-to-child transmission. Although extensive literature has documented the parenteral route and sexual contact, there is a paucity of studies examining intrafamilial transmission within the Mexican population. This study aims to determine the rate of horizontal viral transmission among first-degree relatives of patients diagnosed with HCV infection who received treatment at Hospital de Especialidades No. 14, Centro Medico Nacional "Adolfo Ruiz Cortines." The study design is observational, descriptive, and retrospective. Patient records from outpatient clinics were scrutinized for the period spanning January 2018 to January 2022. Clinical and epidemiological characteristics, risk factors obtained from medical histories, and laboratory results (including positive HCV viral load and HCV serum PCR test) were evaluated to classify cohorts. Informed consent was obtained from all patients. The research work was registered and approved by the Local Research Committee (R-2022-3001-088). A total of 129 patients were analyzed, with an average age of 39.56 years. Female gender predominated among 68 patients (52.7%), and 29 patients (22.5%) acquired HCV infection. The primary risk factors identified were Systemic Arterial Hypertension (RR: 7.47, 95% CI: 2.951-18.914, p