Prevalence of HIV infection and other blood-borne infections in incarcerated and non-incarcerated injection drug users (IDUs) in Mashhad, Iran

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• 作者：Rahbar ; Ali Rowhani ; Rooholamini ; Sahar ; Khoshnood ; Kaveh
• 关键词：HIV ; Incarcerated injection drug users ; Iran ; Prison
• 刊名：The International Journal of Drug Policy
• 出版年：2004
• 出版时间：April, 2004
• 年：2004
• 卷：15
• 期：2
• 页码：151-155
• 全文大小：72.9 K

文摘

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of HIV infection and other blood-borne infections in incarcerated and non-incarcerated IDUs, to compare them with those of volunteer blood donors, and to compare the demographic and risk behavior profiles of HIV+ and HIV− incarcerated IDUs. Methods: This study was conducted in 2001–2002 in Mashhad, Iran. The study population consisted of a convenience sample of 101 incarcerated IDUs and 222 IDUs in a voluntary drug treatment center. Information on demographics and HIV-related risk behaviours were obtained through either an interviewer-assisted questionnaire or chart reviews. Results: Of the 101 incarcerated IDUs, 7 (7 % ) were found to be HIV+. None of the IDUs in the drug treatment center were found to be HIV+. HIV+ IDUs were more likely to report sharing of syringes or needles (100 % ) compared to HIV− IDUs (44.7 % , P=0.005). In addition, among the 101 incarcerated IDUs tested, the seroprevalence of HCV, HBV(HBs-Ag) and HTLV1 was 60, 3 and 52 % , respectively. Conclusions: This is one of the first prevalence studies of HIV infection among IDUs in Iran. The high rates of blood-borne infections among incarcerated IDUs, compounded by the growing problem of drug injection in the country, dictate an urgent need for effective harm reduction programs, particularly among incarcerated IDUs.