BACKGROUND Sufficient targeted HIV prevention activities aiming at reducing HIV transmission within and from an extremely marginalized population of injection drug users (IDUs) must urgently and efficiently be implemented in Vietnam. This study was conducted to facilitate the development of such activities by describing transmission risks of young IDUs and evaluating factors in association with...

679 I T W AS SHO W N that subtype B variants of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) from intravenous drug users (IDUs) differ from the variants of homosexual men in several genomic regions, including vpu, vpr, and sequences encoding the gp120 V3 loop. The most conserved was found to be a synonymous nucleotide substitution in the second glycine codon at the tip of the gp120 V3 loop (GGC)...

BACKGROUND Although injection drug use drives antiretroviral drug resistance, the prevalence of protease inhibitor (PI) resistance among Kenyan IDUs remains undetermined. We, therefore, explored PI resistance mutations and their association with viral load and CD4+ T cell counts in HIV-1 infected IDUs (ART-naive, n = 32; and -experienced, n = 47) and non-drug users (ART-naive, n = 21; and -expe...

BACKGROUND Epidemiological data indicate that Hepatitis G virus (HGV) is transmitted predominantly through parenteral routes, with a high seroprevalence among injection drug users (IDUs), although sexual transmission has also been reported. In this study our objective was to compare the frequency of HGV infection in two groups of HIV-positive patients including IDUs and those with sexual risk o...

Introduction and Aim. Injecting drug users (IDUs) are amongst the most vulnerable people to acquisition of HIV/AIDS. This study aims to collect information on IDUs and their health seeking behavior in Bangladesh. Design and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 IDUs attending a drug rehabilitation center in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Data were collected on sociodemographics, drug use...

BACKGROUND Infections related to injection drug use are common. Harm reduction strategies such as syringe exchange programs and skin care clinics aim to prevent these infections in injection drug users (IDUs). Syringe exchange programs are currently prohibited by law in Florida. The goal of this study was to estimate the mortality and cost of injection drug use-related bacterial infections over...

BACKGROUND Injecting drug users (IDUs) are a major and most important risk factor for rising hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence in Iran. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in prevention of HCV infection transmission among IDUs. PATIENTS AND METHODS A mathematical modeling has been used to estimate number of HCV ...

BACKGROUND Methadone treatment was introduced in Taiwan in 2006 as a harm-reduction program for injection drug users (IDUs), among whom HIV was endemic. We examined the association of HIV serostatus with demographic characteristics, substance use, and sexual behaviors among IDUs at methadone clinics in Taipei, Taiwan. METHODS During 2012-2013, IDUs at methadone clinics in Taipei were recruite...

OBJECTIVE We sought to identify factors associated with interest in receiving therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among HCV-infected injection drug users (IDUs) in 3 United States cities. METHODS IDUs aged 18-35 years who were HCV-infected and seronegative for human immunodeficiency virus underwent surveys on behaviors, experience, and interest in treatment for HCV infection and rea...

The HIV transmission component of a previously published HIV and HCV transmission model[1] was adapted and used in this analysis, and is described in appendix 2. The model is divided into two intervention sub-groups:no opioid substitution therapy (OST) and OST. The IDUs in the OST group are assumed to have a reduced HIV transmission risk. Initially, the model assumes that no one is in these int...