Low mother-to-child-transmission rate of Hepatitis C virus in cART treated HIV-1 infected mothers

•A modest rate of 4% of women transmitted HCV vertically.•A timely diagnosis of HIV and HCV is needed to start treatment.•The best option is treatment of HCV before pregnancy. Maternal transmission is the most common cause of HCV infection in children. HIV co-infection and high levels of plasma HCV-RNA have been associated with increased HCV transmission rates. We assessed the vertical HCV transmission rate in the HIV–HCV co-infected group of pregnant women on cART. We conducted a retrospective study in a Dutch cohort of HIV-positive pregnant women and their children. We identified co-infected mothers. Results of the HCV tests of the children were obtained. All 21 women were on cART at the time of delivery. We analyzed data of the 24 live-born children at risk for mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HCV between 1996 and 2009. HIV-RNA was