title: Continued spread of HIV among injecting drug users in southern Sichuan Province, China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate HIV prevalence among injecting drug users (IDUs) in a drug trafficking city in southwest Sichuan Province, China.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 314 IDUs was invited to participate in the cross-sectional survey in 2004 through community outreach recruitment and peer referrals. Blood sample was taken for HIV antibody testing and a structured questionnaire was administered to collect information on socio-demographics, drug using and sexual behaviors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HIV prevalence among IDUs was 17.8% (56/314), about one half higher than that in previous survey in 2002 (11.3%, 43/379). Yi and other minority ethnicity (Odds ratio [OR], 3.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-5.8; P < 0.001), and total times of sharing injecting equipment 1-9 times versus none, OR, 2.7; 95% CI 1.2-6.2; P = 0.02; and > or = 10 times versus none, OR, 7.5; 95% CI, 3.2-17.7; P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for HIV infection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IDUs with high prevalence rates of HIV and equipment sharing behavior in the drug trafficking city may serve a source for further spread of HIV to other areas in China. The increasing trend of HIV epidemic among IDUs underscores the urgency of scaling up interventions.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, and National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Xuanwu District, Beijing 100050, China. translation_lucy@sohu.com
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Guangming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Han-Zhu
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Kanglin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yunxia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shizhu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Yuhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yiming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shao