Hepatitis C and HIV prevalence using oral mucosal transudate, and reported drug use and sexual behaviours of youth in custody in British Columbia.
BACKGROUND
Youth in custody have high-risk drug use and sexual behaviours. HIV prevalence in this population was assessed in British Columbia (BC) in 1994 but hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence has never been measured. We sought to determine: 1) the performance of the OraSure, a non-invasive device for oral mucosal transudate (OMT) specimen collection, to detect HCV and HIV antibodies; 2) the prevalence of HCV and HIV among youth in custody; and 3) the factors associated with intravenous drug use and sex for trade.


METHODS
OraSure was validated in 110 adults with known HIV and HCV sero-status. Nurses administered an anonymous survey and collected OMT samples from youth aged 14-19 years in BC youth custody centres.


RESULTS
Antibody detection in OMT had 96.4% sensitivity for HIV and 94.6% for HCV. 417 youth were enrolled; 22% were female; 48% reported Aboriginal ethnicity. Although 98.3% reported ever using drugs, <8% reported injection drug use (IDU). IDU was independently associated with age of first sexual intercourse (inverse association) and sex for trade (sex in exchange for money, drugs, food or shelter) (OR 4.28; 95% CI: 1.56-11.75). Females were >9 times more likely to report sex for trade. Five Aboriginal youth were identified with HCV; prevalence estimate 1.2% (95% CI: 0.53-2.77%); 3 reported injecting drugs, the other 2 reported using cocaine/crack and sharing non-injection drug paraphernalia. Two youth were identified with HIV, prevalence estimate 0.48% (95% CI: 0.14%-1.72%).


CONCLUSIONS
IDU, HCV and HIV prevalence remain low. Interventions are needed to prevent transition to IDU and further opportunities for prevention and harm reduction should be explored while the youth are in custody.
School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. jbuxton@interchange.ubc.ca
J A
JA
Buxton
D
D
Rothon
M
M
Durigon
M
M
Lem
A W
AW
Tu
V P
VP
Remple
D
D
Cook
M
M
Krajden
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006306:Health Surveys; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000821:virology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011329:Prisoners / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012463:Saliva / Q000821:virology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011477:Sex Work; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies