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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
HIV, Hepatitis B and C among people who inject drugs: High prevalence of HIV and Hepatitis C RNA positive infections observed in Delhi, India
BMC Public Health, Volume 15, No. 1, Article 726, Year 2015
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Description
Background: India has large PWID (persons who inject drugs) population estimated at 177,000. PWIDs are at high risk for HIV, Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV) infections. We report the prevalence of HIV, HBV and HCV infections and correlates of HIV-HCV co-infection among male PWIDs in Delhi. Methods: 3748 male PWIDs were recruited for a longitudinal HIV incidence study. Participants were tested for HBV and HCV infections at their first follow-up visit (FV1) using serum HBV-surface antigen, and HCV-antibody tests followed by HCV RNA PCR, respectively. All PWIDs who were HIV-negative at enrollment, were re-tested for HIV at FV1. Multinomial logistic regression was employed to identify predictors of HIV, HCV and HIV-HCV co-infection. Results: Overall prevalence of HIV, HBV and HCV among 2,292 participants tested at FV1 was 25.9 %, 9.7 % and 53.7 %, respectively. 6.4 % of the participants had HIV mono-infection, 34.1 % had HCV mono-infection, and 19.6 % had HIV-HCV co-infection. 26 % of HIV-positive participants without HCV were HBsAg positive. In the regression model, having practiced at least one risky injection in the past month (relative risk ratio (RRR): 1.38; 95 % CI: 1.01-1.89) and not knowing his own HIV status (RRR: 1.65, 95 % CI: 1.25-2.17) were independent predictors for HIV-HCV co-infection. Longer duration of drug injections was associated with a higher likelihood of HCV mono-infection (2-5 years RRR: 2.13; 6-10 years RRR: 2.74; ≥11 years RRR: 3.14) and HIV-HCV co-infection (2-5 years RRR: 5.14; 6-10 years RRR: 8.53; >11 years RRR: 8.03). Higher frequency of injection days/month was associated with a higher likelihood of HCV mono-infection (≤10 days/month RRR: 1.61; 11-20 days/month RRR: 3.15; 21-30 days/month RRR: 3.47) and HIV-HCV co-infections (≤10 days/month RRR: 2.26; 11-20 days/month RRR: 3.46; 21-30 days/month RRR: 4.83). Conclusions: We report a high prevalence of HIV, HCV and HIV-HCV co-infection among male PWIDs in Delhi. A tenth of the participants were HBsAg positive. Targeted Intervention programs should make HBV/HCV testing, prevention and care more accessible for PWIDs. © 2015 Ray Saraswati et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
Authors & Co-Authors
Sarna, Avina
Unknown Affiliation
Sebastian, Mary Philip
Unknown Affiliation
Sharma, Vartika
Unknown Affiliation
Madan, Ira
India, New Delhi
Sahara Centre for Residential Care and Rehabilitation
Thior, Ibou
United States, Washington
Path
Pulerwitz, Julie
United States, Washington
Path
United States, New York
The Population Council, Inc.
Tun, Waimar
United States, New York
The Population Council, Inc.
Statistics
Citations: 33
Authors: 7
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1186/s12889-015-2003-z
ISSN:
14712458
Research Areas
Health System And Policy
Infectious Diseases
Study Design
Randomised Control Trial
Cross Sectional Study
Cohort Study
Participants Gender
Male