Vietnam bears a high burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and
HIV infection among persons who inject drugs (PWID). The high prevalence of HCV
and HIV occurs in a context of stigma and limited preventive interventions for
PWID.
This study aims to estimate the prevalence of HCV, HIV, and
HIV/HCV coinfection among PWID and to explore their associations with lifetime
injection behaviors.
A total of 1434 PWID were recruited from the Thai Nguyen
Province of Vietnam between 2005 and 2007. Participants responded to a
structured questionnaire and provided blood samples at baseline. A
cross-sectional analysis of data collected at baseline was carried out. Factors
associated with HCV monoinfection and HIV/HCV coinfection were evaluated by
multinomial logistic regression.
The prevalences of HIV and HCV were 35.1 and 88.8%,
respectively, and the prevalences of HIV/HCV coinfection and HCV monoinfection
were 34.8 and 53.9%, respectively. After adjusting for confounders in multivariate
analysis, ever reusing a syringe and needle was found to be significantly
associated with HIV monoinfection and HIV/HCV coinfection. Ever sharing diazepam or novocaine was also found to be
significantly associated with HIV monoinfection and HIV/HCV coinfection.
Our findings demonstrate a high burden of HIV and HCV
infection among PWID in Vietnam. Lifetime injection behaviors, including
sharing of diazepam or novocaine, may account for the high prevalence of HIV
and HCV. Improving prevention and ensuring access to care remain critically
important for this vulnerable population.
- 1Departments of aEpidemiology bHealth, Behavior and Society cBiostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland dDepartment of Health Behavior, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA eThai Nguyen Center for Preventive Medicine, Thai Nguyen, Vietnam.
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