Risks for HIV, HBV, and HCV infections among male injection drug users in northern Vietnam

A case–control study

Bibliographic Data

ID19440993
AuthorsVu Minh Quan (0000-0003-4462-0546, a Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health , Baltimore , MD , USA, corresponding author), Vivian F Go (0000-0003-4828-6880, a Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health , Baltimore , MD , USA), Le Van Nam (0000-0003-3616-3971, b Bac Ninh Department of Health , Bac Ninh , Vietnam), Anna Bergenstrom (a Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health , Baltimore , MD , USA), Nguyen Phuong Thuoc (b Bac Ninh Department of Health , Bac Ninh , Vietnam), Jonathan Zenilman (c Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine , Baltimore , MD , USA), Jonathan M Zenilman (0000-0003-0244-6973, Johns Hopkins Medicine), Carl Latkin (0000-0002-7931-2116, a Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health , Baltimore , MD , USA), David D Celentano (0000-0002-6061-8799, a Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health , Baltimore , MD , USA)
Year2009
Volume21
Issue1
Pages7-16
Publication date2009-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAIDS Care (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0954-0121 • E-ISSN: 1360-0451
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09540120802017610
PMID19085215
PMCIDPMC2869448
OpenAlexW2045443133
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited21

Injection drug use (IDU) and HIV infection are important public health problems in Vietnam. The IDU population increased 70% from 2000 to 2004 and is disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS -- the country's second leading cause of death. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) share transmission routes with HIV and cause serious medical consequences. This study aimed to determine risk factors for acquisition of HIV, HBV, and HCV infections among IDUs in a northern province. We conducted a matched case-control study among active IDUs aged 18-45 who participated in a community-based survey (30-minute interview and serologic testing). Each HIV-infected IDU (case) was matched with one HIV-uninfected IDU (control) by age, sex (males only), and study site (128 pairs). Similar procedures were used for HBV infection (50 pairs) and HCV infection (65 pairs). Conditional logistic regression models were fit to identify risk factors for each infection. Among 309 surveyed IDUs, the HIV, HBV, and HCV prevalence was 42.4%, 80.9%, and 74.1%, respectively. Only 11.0% reported having been vaccinated against hepatitis B. While 13.3% of the IDUs reported sharing needles (past six months), 63.8% engaged in indirect sharing practices (past six months), including sharing drug solutions, containers, rinse water, and frontloading drugs. In multivariable models, sharing drugs through frontloading was significantly associated with HIV infection (odds ratio [OR]=2.8), HBV infection (OR=3.8), and HCV infection (OR=4.6). We report an unrecognized association between sharing drugs through frontloading and higher rates of HIV, HBV and HCV infections among male IDUs in Vietnam. This finding may have important implications for bloodborne viral prevention for IDUs in Vietnam

Condom · Drug injection · Environmental health · Hepatitis B · Hepatitis B virus · Hepatitis C · Hepatitis C virus · Needle sharing · Odds ratio · Pathology · Population · Public health · Syphilis · Virus · Hepatitis C virus research · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Immunology · Internal Medicine · Virology

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