Abstract
BackgroundTo explore folk understandings of blood borne virus infection and infectiousness among injecting drug users in Kings Cross, Sydney.MethodsObservational fieldwork was conducted in Kings Cross over a four month period. In-depth interviews with 24 current injectors and 4 key informants recruited from King Cross were undertaken.ResultsHepatitis C (HCV) generated different meanings from HIV. HIV was considered "the dreaded" and generated fear of infection and dire disease progression. Whereas HCV was considered non-desirable but less threatening than HIV. The risks of transmitting HCV through sharing injecting paraphernalia was poorly understood. Some believed HCV infection was linked to poor hygiene and dirty water. Jaundice was mistakenly thought to indicate HCV infection and was used to gauge infectiousness. Many were confused about their current hepatitis C serostatus. Some participants thought they had a "dormant antibody" or that they had a "mild case" of infection. Participants were unsure what this meant for their own health or for their potential to infect others.ConclusionParticipants displayed confusion about transmission risks for hepatitis C, conflating blood awareness and hygiene health promotion messages. Participants' reliance on the symptom of jaundice to gauge serostatus places them at risk of transmitting and contracting HCV. Participants were confused about what a positive HCV diagnosis meant for their own health and their ability to infect others. Education is needed to debunk misconceptions about jaundice and clarify medical terms such as 'antibody' at the time of diagnosis. Further clarification of messages about injecting hygiene and blood awareness are also required.
Highlights
An estimated 210,000 people are living with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Australia [1]
HIV elicited strong reactions, in particular the desire to prevent infection by avoiding certain types of injectors considered to be at high risk such as gay men, or those individuals 'known' to be infected with the virus
In contrast to HIV, the meanings attached to the hepatitis C virus were fairly diverse
Summary
An estimated 210,000 people are living with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Australia [1]. HCV is transmitted mainly through the shared use of injecting equipment by injecting drug users (IDUs) [2,3]. HCV is the most prevalent blood-borne virus infection among Australian IDUs, varying from almost 90% to just under 50%, depending on the injecting population sampled [4,5,6,7]. HCV infection is a major public health concern. The potential cumulative health care costs of HCV infection over the 60 years will be approximately $4 billion [10]. To explore folk understandings of blood borne virus infection and infectiousness among injecting drug users in Kings Cross, Sydney
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