Lower hepatitis C virus reinfection rates in hemodialysis patients compared to <scp>HIV</scp> and injection drug user populations after antiviral therapy

Abstract Hepatitis C virus (HCV) reinfection remains a significant concern in high‐risk groups such as people living with HIV (PLWH), people who inject drugs (PWID), and patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD), even after achieving a sustained virologic response (SVR). This retrospective study focused on three high‐risk groups of HCV patients who achieved SVR12 following direct‐acting antiviral agents therapy between January 2018 and June 2022. We rechecked HCV RNA levels at least once after SVR12, defining reinfection as the presence of detectable viremia. We enrolled 149 HCV patients, including 22 PLWH from sexual transmission, 52 PLWH combined with PWID, 41 PWID, and 34 undergoing HD. The number of patients reinfected was 3, 7, 5, and 0 in each group. The rates of reinfection per 100 person‐years of follow‐up were 6.1, 6.1, 5.2, and 0. The median time to reinfection was shortest among PWID at 1.95 years and longest among PLWH from sexual transmission at 3.17 years. The reinfection rate is low in patients on hemodialysis but remains particularly high in the PLWH and PWID groups. Effective HIV prevention and syringe services programs remain critical in meeting the needs of these high‐risk populations.