Solomon SS, Celentano DD, Srikrishnan AK, Vasudevan CK, Murugavel KG, Iqbal SH, Anand S, Kumar MS, Latkin C, Solomon S, Mehta SH. Low incidences of human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus infection and declining risk behaviors in a cohort of injection drug users in Chennai, India.
Am J Epidemiol 2010;
172:1259-67. [PMID:
20935070 DOI:
10.1093/aje/kwq288]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The authors characterized human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) incidence and prospective changes in self-reported risk behavior over 2 years among 1,158 injection drug users (IDUs) recruited in Chennai, India, in 2005-2006. At baseline, HIV prevalence was 25.3%, and HCV prevalence was 54.5%. Seropositive persons with prevalent HIV infection were used to estimate baseline HIV incidence by means of the Calypte HIV-1 BED Incidence EIA (Calypte Biomedical Corporation, Portland, Oregon). Longitudinal HIV and HCV incidence were measured among 865 HIV-negative IDUs and 519 HCV antibody-negative IDUs followed semiannually for 2 years. Participants received pre- and posttest risk reduction counseling at each visit. Estimated HIV incidence at baseline was 2.95 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.21, 4.69) by BED assay; observed HIV incidence over 1,262 person-years was 0.48 per 100 person-years (95% CI: 0.17, 1.03). HCV incidence over 645 person-years was 1.71 per 100 person-years (95% CI: 0.85, 3.03). Self-reported risk behaviors declined significantly over time, from 100% of participants reporting drug injection at baseline to 11% at 24 months. In this cohort with high HIV and HCV prevalence at enrollment, the authors observed low incidence and declining self-reported risk behavior over time. While no formal intervention was administered, these findings highlight the potential impact of voluntary counseling and testing in a high-risk cohort.
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