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Learning Objectives for this Presentation:
By the end of the presentation, participants will be able to describe impact of HCV screening on risk behavior among injection drug users.
Background:
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is hyper-endemic among injection drug users (IDUs), with research showing that 50-80% have been infected. HCV-antibody (anti-HCV) screening of high risk individuals such as IDUs may contribute to its control by reducing exposure risk behavior among uninfected IDUs and transmission risk behavior among anti-HCV positive injectors.
Methods:
In 5 US cities (Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle), 3106 young IDUs (15-30 years old) were recruited into a baseline interview to determine eligibility for a randomized controlled trial of a behavioral intervention. HIV and HCV antibody testing were performed, and subject data (e.g., demographics, drug and sexual risk behavior, and history of HIV and HCV testing) were collected. Risk behavior during the previous 3 months was compared to recent HCV testing and awareness of anti-HCV serostatus.
Results:
Anti-HCV prevalence in this sample of young IDUs was 34.1%. Sensitivity and specificity of self-reported HCV status were low, as only 28% of all HCV-positive IDUs knew their HCV-status vs. 54% of HCV-negative IDUs. A history of drug treatment or needle exchange use was associated with increased awareness of HCV-serostatus. HCV-negative IDUs who knew their serostatus were less likely than those unaware of their status to inject with a syringe used by another IDU or to share cottons to filter drug solutions. Similar associations were not observed among the anti-HCV positive IDUs.
Conclusions:
Few anti-HCV seropositive IDUs in this study were aware of their serostatus. Expanded availability of HCV screening with high quality counseling and testing is clearly needed for this high-risk population to encourage behavior change to promote the health of HCV-positive IDUs and decrease infection risk among HCV-negative IDUs.
See more of D3 - Hepatitis Infection in IDUs: Current Epidemiologic Trends
See more of The 2005 National Viral Hepatitis Prevention Conference