Seroprevalence and correlates of HIV and HCV among injecting drug users in Edmonton, Alberta.
BACKGROUND
Injection drug users (IDUs) are at risk for acquiring human immunodefiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) via parenteral and sexual transmission. We determined the seroprevalence and correlates of HIV and HCV for IDUs recruited in Edmonton, Alberta.


METHODS
Edmonton was one site of a multi-site, national survey (I-Track Study). From April to June 2005, IDUs were recruited and administered a questionnaire collecting information on demographics, drug use, sexual behaviours, and HIV/HCV testing behaviours. Finger-prick blood samples were collected for serology testing. Seroprevalence of HIV and HCV was determined and correlates of infection were assessed using logistic regression.


RESULTS
Of 275 IDUs, 68% were male, the median age was 38 years and 70.6% were Aboriginal. HIV prevalence was 23.9%, HCV prevalence was 66.1% and HIV/HCV co-infection was 22.8%. Cocaine (36.9%) was reported to be the drug injected most often in the previous six months. Correlates for HIV were sex trade (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.0-8.3) for women, and older age (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.0-1.2) and needle exchange program (NEP) use (OR 5.7, 95% CI 1.3-23.7) for men. For women, having a casual sex partner was protective for HCV (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.10-0.78). Independent correlates for HCV among males included age (AOR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1-1.3) and younger age of first injection (AOR 0.92, 95% CI 0.87-0.96).


CONCLUSIONS
The high HIV and HCV prevalence found in this study among IDUs in Edmonton highlights the complex needs of the IDU community and the continued need for targeted programming.
Plitt
Sabrina S
SS
Surveillance and Risk Assessment Division, Centre for Communicable Disease and Infection Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON.
Gratrix
Jennifer
J
Hewitt
Sharyn
S
Conroy
Patsy
P
Parnell
Tracy
T
Lucki
Beverly
B
Pilling
Vicki
V
Anderson
Barbara
B
Choudri
Yogesh
Y
Archibald
Chris P
CP
Singh
Ameeta E
AE
D000328:Adult; D000416:Alberta / Q000453:epidemiology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000635:transmission; D006306:Health Surveys; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications*
D013287:Illicit Drugs