Abstract
BackgroundFew studies of the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have focussed on women who work as street sex workers to finance their drug use.MethodsThe investigators report the survey findings of such a population in Glasgow. All women attending the health and social care drop-in centre, situated in Glasgow's "Red Light Area", during a four-week period in 1999 were invited to participate in a survey involving the provision of a saliva sample for anonymous HCV testing and the self-completion of a questionnaire seeking demographic, sexual and injecting practice data.ResultsOf the 223 women who attended, 51% agreed to participate. Of the 98 women who provided a sufficient saliva sample, 64% (95% CI: 54%–74%) tested HCV antibody positive; 98% of those who tested positive had ever injected drugs. Adjusting for the 85% sensitivity of the saliva test, the HCV antibody prevalence among IDU sex workers sampled was 81%; a rate which is considerably higher than those recorded, contemporaneously, among Glasgow IDUs generally. Two factors were independently associated with HCV antibody positivity in saliva: ever shared needles and syringes (adjusted OR 5.7, 95% CI 2–16) and number of times imprisoned (adjusted OR 7.3, 95% CI 1.4–39, for more than five times compared to zero times).ConclusionWomen who engage in street sex work to finance their drug habit are a particularly desperate, chaotic and vulnerable population. This study demonstrates that their HCV infection risk may be greater than that for other IDUs. Those responsible for designing interventions to prevent HCV infection among IDUs should consider the special needs of this group.
Highlights
Few studies of the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have focussed on women who work as street sex workers to finance their drug use
Many studies of the prevalence and determinants of HCV among injecting drug users (IDUs) have been undertaken [3] but few have focussed on women who work as street prostitutes to finance their drug habit [4]; previous studies among female sex workers have generally involved a low proportion (≤ 5%) of IDUs [5,6]
This study demonstrates that their HCV infection risk may be greater than that for other IDUs
Summary
Few studies of the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have focussed on women who work as street sex workers to finance their drug use. Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection is one of the major public health issues of the 21st Century. In the UK, it is estimated that 200,000 to 450,000 individuals, mostly persons who have injected drugs, are infected with HCV [1,2]. Many studies of the prevalence and determinants of HCV among injecting drug users (IDUs) have been undertaken [3] but few have focussed on women who work as street prostitutes to finance their drug habit [4]; previous studies among female sex workers have generally involved a low proportion (≤ 5%) of IDUs [5,6]. Was performed to determine the main predictors of an HCV antibody test result in saliva; all factors significantly associated with HCV antibody status at the 5% level in the univariate analyses were considered in the multiple regression analyses
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