scholarly journals Understanding HIV and hepatitis C virus risk among incarcerated young men with histories of injecting drug use

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-131
Author(s):  
Shelley Walker ◽  
Mark Stoové ◽  
Mandy Wilson ◽  
Peter Higgs
Author(s):  
Biao Zhou ◽  
Gao Feng Cai ◽  
Hua Kun Lv ◽  
Shuang Fei Xu ◽  
Zheng Ting Wang ◽  
...  

Hepatitis C remains a significant public health threat. However, the main routes of transmission have changed since the early 1990s. Currently, drug use is the main source of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and some measures have been successively implemented and additional studies have been published. However, the factors correlating with HCV infection failed to clearly define. Our study pooled the odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and analyzed sensitivity by searching data in the PubMed, Elsevier, Springer, Wiley, and EBSCO databases. Publication bias was determined by Egger’s test. In our meta-analysis, HCV-infected and non-HCV-infected patients from 49 studies were analyzed. The pooled ORs with 95% CIs for study factors were as follows: Injecting drug use 10.11 (8.54, 11.97); sharing needles and syringes 2.24 (1.78, 2.83); duration of drug use >5 years 2.39 (1.54, 3.71); unemployment 1.50 (1.22, 1.85); commercial sexual behavior 1.00 (0.73, 1.38); married or cohabiting with a regular partner 0.88 (0.79, 0.98), and sexual behavior without a condom 1.72 (1.07, 2.78). This study found that drug users with histories of injecting drug use, sharing needles and syringes, drug use duration of >5 years, and unemployment, were at increased risk of HCV infection. Our findings indicate that sterile needles and syringes should be made available to ensure safe injection. In view of that, methadone maintenance treatment can reduce or put an end to risky drug-use behaviors, and should be scaled up further, thereby reducing HCV infection.


Author(s):  
Evan B Cunningham ◽  
Behzad Hajarizadeh ◽  
Janaki Amin ◽  
Margaret Hellard ◽  
Julie Bruneau ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The aim of this analysis was to calculate the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) reinfection and associated factors among 2 clinical trials of HCV direct-acting antiviral treatment in people with recent injecting drug use or currently receiving opioid agonist therapy (OAT). Methods Participants who achieved an end-of-treatment response in 2 clinical trials of people with recent injecting drug use or currently receiving OAT (SIMPLIFY and D3FEAT) enrolled between March 2016 and February 2017 in 8 countries were assessed for HCV reinfection, confirmed by viral sequencing. Incidence was calculated using person-time of observation and associated factors were assessed using Cox proportional hazard models. Results Seventy-three percent of the population at risk of reinfection (n = 177; median age, 48 years; 73% male) reported ongoing injecting drug use. Total follow-up time at risk was 254 person-years (median, 1.8 years; range, 0.2–2.8 years). Eight cases of reinfection were confirmed for an incidence of 3.1/100 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6–6.3) overall and 17.9/100 person-years (95% CI, 5.8–55.6) among those who reported sharing needles/syringes. Younger age and needle/syringe sharing were associated with HCV reinfection. Conclusions These data demonstrate the need for ongoing monitoring and improved strategies to prevent HCV reinfection following successful treatment among people with ongoing injecting drug use to achieve HCV elimination. Clinical Trials Registration NCT02336139 and NCT02498015.


2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. S520-S521
Author(s):  
H.M. Valerio ◽  
S.J. Hutchinson ◽  
D.J. Goldberg ◽  
J. Lewsey ◽  
A. Weir ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 154 ◽  
pp. 125-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Valerio ◽  
David J. Goldberg ◽  
James Lewsey ◽  
Amanda Weir ◽  
Samuel Allen ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 1012-1018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loren Brener ◽  
Courtney von Hippel ◽  
Hannah Wilson ◽  
Max Hopwood

Hepatitis C virus is stigmatised because of its association with injecting drug use. Although treatment is available, uptake remains low, especially among people who inject drugs. Ninety health workers completed a survey assessing attitudes towards people who inject drugs and support for treatment for three client scenarios: one who stopped injecting, one on methadone, and one continuing to inject. Support for hepatitis C virus treatment was significantly higher, where the client was not injecting. Participants who showed more negative attitudes towards people who inject drugs were less supportive of clients entering hepatitis C virus treatment, illustrating the influence of health workers’ attitudes in determining treatment options offered to clients.


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