Phil is 35 years old and lives with his roommate in a house just outside of central Philadelphia. He works as a bartender six nights a week and struggles with insomnia and anxiety. He actively injects drugs and has a history of unprotected sex with many male partners. He has HCV and doesn’t know it because he fears the discrimination and racism he has experienced in the past from healthcare workers.

Meet Phil

Phil is 35 years old and lives with his roommate in a house just outside of central Philadelphia. He works as a bartender six nights a week and sleeps a lot during the day.

Phil is 35 years old and lives with his roommate in a house just outside of central Philadelphia. He works as a bartender six nights a week and sleeps a lot during the day

A Closer Look

Phil struggles with insomnia and anxiety due to his flipped schedule but chooses not to treat them. He has come close to losing his job many times because he overslept and missed the beginning of his shift. His lifestyle is casual and frivolous, without regard for the realities of his financial situation. This often leads him to buy things he can’t afford. Phil avoids long-term commitments and isn’t very well connected with his family. His peer group is supportive, but some of Phil’s friends perpetuate his active use of injectable drugs.

A Look Ahead

Phil also has a history of multiple male sexual partners. He takes pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to avoid contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but doesn’t realize that he can still get viruses like hepatitis C when engaging in unprotected sex.

Healthcare Outlook

Phil has begun to notice symptoms but thinks he probably just has a cold. He falsely believes he is protected against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other viruses, and has no intention of seeking care. Phil also does not regularly participate in STI testing, despite having multiple sexual partners. Part of Phil’s hesitance to testing and potential treatment is a belief that he will face stigma related to his lifestyle and injection drug use.

The Bigger Picture

To overcome these barriers, HCV screening for MSM should be performed annually or more frequently with present risk factors (high HCV prevalence, high-risk sexual behavior, and ulcerative STDs)2 To reduce the risk of sexually transmitted HCV and other STDs, MSM should be counseled to use condoms with all sex acts2
  • The global HCV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) is significantly higher than in the general population, and the difference is more pronounced in HIV-positive MSM than in HIV-negative MSM
  • Several outbreaks of sexually transmitted HCV infection among HIV-infected MSM have been reported since 2000

To overcome these barriers, HCV screening for MSM should be performed annually or more frequently with present risk factors (high HCV prevalence, high-risk sexual behavior, and ulcerative STDs)2

To reduce the risk of sexually transmitted HCV and other STDs, MSM should be counseled to use condoms with all sex acts2

Additional Third-Party Resources

AASLD/IDSA HCV Guidelines: MSM

HCV in Men Who Have Sex With Men

CDC: MSM and Viral Hepatitis

Men Who Have Sex with Men and Viral Hepatitis

CDC: Sexual Transmission and Viral Hepatitis

Sexual Transmission and Hepatitis C

CDC: Viral Hepatitis Information for Gay and Bisexual Men Fact Sheet

Are Gay and Bisexual Men at Risk for Viral Hepatitis?

Additional AbbVie Resources

Preview of HCV Reinfection Guide.
Hepatitis C Screening Guide

Chronic HCV Infection: Screening Assessment Guide

Download
Preview of HCV Reinfection Guide.
Hepatitis C Patient Brochure

What You Should Know About Hep C

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1. WHO. https://www.who.int/news/item/17-11-2020-who-commissioned-global-systematic-review-finds-high-hcv-prevalence-and-incidence-among-men-who-have-sex-with-men. Accessed October 13, 2021.

2. AASLD-IDSA. https://www.hcvguidelines.org/unique-populations/msm. Last updated November 6, 2019. Accessed October 13, 2021.