Abstract
Objective: Injection drug using is a major risk factor for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection in developing countries. Ten percent of the HIV/AIDS cases worldwide are attributed to Injection drug use. Among injection drug users (IDUs), HIV and other blood-borne infections are spread primarily through risk behaviors related to sharing of contaminated syringes and drug injection equipments. The aim of present study was to determine HIV prevalence among cases with background of intravenous drug use via community announcement in Isfahan, Iran. Methodology: The cross-sectional study was conducted in 1599 volunteers from 16 different cities of Isfahan province, Iran who had a history of intravenous drug use in 2009. Participants were invited to reference laboratories and Serum samples were separated. Diagnosis of HIV infection was determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Western blotting was done to confirm HIV ELISA positive specimen. The collected data was coded and entered in a data base file. Descriptive statistical method was used for data analysis. Results: Out of 1599 volunteers with a history of Intravenous drug use 24 of them (1. 5%) were HIV-antibody-seropositive. Conclusion: Prevalence of HIV infection among IDUs in Isfahan province is relatively high. Therefore it is essential to perform more effective prevention strategies and continuous education programs to control risk behaviors among IDUs. Moreover, available prevention services such as needle and syringe programs are useful to reduce the frequency of HIV among the population of drug users. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12669/pjms.291(Suppl).3541 How to cite this:Hashemipour M, Nokhodian Z, Yaran M, Ataei B, Tayeri K, Nobari RF, et al. Prevalence of HIV infection in individuals with history of intravenous drug use via community announcement in Isfahan- Iran. Pak J Med Sci 2013;29(1)Suppl:395-398. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12669/pjms.291(Suppl).3541 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Highlights
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a worldwide health problem and most of countries are faced with its political, social, cultural, economic problems.[1]
It is estimated that more than 260,000 injection drug users (IDUs) exist in Iran and about 100000 people living with HIV/AIDS in this country.[7,8]
A total number of 1599 injection drug users that are estimated 50% of all expected intravenous drug users in the community were enrolled in this study
Summary
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a worldwide health problem and most of countries are faced with its political, social, cultural, economic problems.[1]. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is acquired by IDUs via sharing drug equipment with HIV-infected persons and by engaging in risky sexual behaviors.[5] According to the WHO reports 10% of all reported HIV cases are related to Injecting drug users and the proportion of HIV infections caused by injecting drug use is 1–10% in southern and south-eastern Asia.[6] It is estimated that more than 260,000 IDUs exist in Iran and about 100000 people living with HIV/AIDS in this country.[7,8] Based on recent studies, Iran similar to many other countries in south-eastern Asia is facing with concentrated epidemic level of HIV infection prevalence more than 5% in injection drug users (IDUs).[9] According to multiple studies among Iranian IDUs overall prevalence of HIV infection among people with history of drug injecting is about 15% there is true reduction in previous reported prevalence (till 24%) due to effective harm reduction programs.[7,10] Increased rates of injecting drug use in Iran have been associated with several factors such as poverty, unemployment and noticeable neighbouring with Afghanistan which is the fundamental opium producer in the world.[11,12] Most of the studies in Iran for determining the prevalence of HIV infection have been conducted in particular groups such as prisoners, hospitals, sex workers, etc.[7,13] there aren’t any studies which mentioned widespread survey among IDU proportion in Isfahan province community
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