Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
medicine
New evidence on the HIV epidemic in Libya: Why countries must implement prevention programs among people who inject drugs
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, Volume 62, No. 5, Year 2013
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
Background: Libya had one of the world's largest nosocomial HIV outbreaks in the late 1990s leading to the detention of 6 foreign medical workers. They were released in 2007 after the Libyan Government and the European Union agreed to humanitarian cooperation that included the development of Libya's first National HIV Strategy and the research reported in this article. Despite the absence of sound evidence on the status and dynamics of Libya's HIV epidemic, some officials posited that injecting drug use was the main mode of transmission. We therefore sought to assess HIV prevalence and related risk factors among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Tripoli. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 328 PWID in Tripoli using respondent-driven sampling. We collected behavioral data and blood samples for HIV, hepatitis C virus, and hepatitis B virus testing. Results: We estimate an HIV prevalence of 87%, hepatitis C virus prevalence of 94%, and hepatitis B virus prevalence of 5%. We detected injecting drug use-related and sexual risk factors in the context of poor access to comprehensive services for HIV prevention and mitigation. For example, most respondents (85%) reported having shared needles. Conclusions: In this first biobehavioral survey among PWID in Libya, we detected one of the highest (or even the highest) levels of HIV infection worldwide in the absence of a comprehensive harm-reduction program. There is an urgent need to implement an effective National HIV Strategy informed by the results of this research, especially because recent military events and related sociopolitical disruption and migration might lead to a further expansion of the epidemic. Copyright © 2012 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Authors & Co-Authors
Mirzoyan, Lusine
United Kingdom, Liverpool
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Berendes, Sima
United Kingdom, Liverpool
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Jeffery, Caroline
United Kingdom, Liverpool
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Thomson, Joanna
United Kingdom, Coventry
University of Warwick
Othman, Hussain Ben
Libya, Tripoli
National Centre for Disease Control
Danon, Leon
United Kingdom, Coventry
University of Warwick
Turki, Abdullah A.
United Kingdom, Liverpool
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Saffialden, Rabea
United Kingdom, Liverpool
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Valadez, Joseph James
United Kingdom, Liverpool
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Statistics
Citations: 45
Authors: 9
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1097/QAI.0b013e318284714a
ISSN:
15254135
Research Areas
Health System And Policy
Infectious Diseases
Sexual And Reproductive Health
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Quantitative
Study Locations
Libya