Blood-borne hepatitis in opiate users in iran: a poor outlook and urgent need to change nationwide screening policy.
OBJECTIVE: Iran has the highest rate of opiate use worldwide. However, most opiate users are not screened for hepatitis virus infections. This study aimed to provide accurate, detailed data on the size of the opiate user population at risk of developing these infections. METHOD: This seroprevalence...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3846675?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1819101989091409920 |
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| author | Behnam Honarvar Neda Odoomi Mohsen Moghadami Parvin Afsar Kazerooni Alireza Hassanabadi Parvin Zare Dolatabadi Ehsan Farzanfar Kamran Bagheri Lankarani |
| author_facet | Behnam Honarvar Neda Odoomi Mohsen Moghadami Parvin Afsar Kazerooni Alireza Hassanabadi Parvin Zare Dolatabadi Ehsan Farzanfar Kamran Bagheri Lankarani |
| author_sort | Behnam Honarvar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | OBJECTIVE: Iran has the highest rate of opiate use worldwide. However, most opiate users are not screened for hepatitis virus infections. This study aimed to provide accurate, detailed data on the size of the opiate user population at risk of developing these infections. METHOD: This seroprevalence study was conducted in the city of Shiraz, southern Iran. All participants were screened for HBV, HCV and HIV infection. The data were analyzed with SPSS. RESULT: Among 569 participants, 233 (40.9%) were injection drug users (IDU), 369 (64.8%) were heterosexual, 84 (14.7%) were bisexual and 15 (2.6%) were homosexual. One hundred nine (19.1%) were HCV antibody-positive, 18 (3.1%) were HBS antigen-positive, 72 (12.6%) were HBc antibody-positive and 23 (4%) were HIV-positive. Among IDU compared to non-IDU, positivity rates for HBS antigen (5.5 vs 1.4%), HBc antibody (22.7 vs 5.6%), HCV antibody (40.3 vs 4.4%) and HIV (7.7 vs 1.4%) were higher (P < 0.05). Most patients with HBV (80.7%) and HCV infection (83.4%) were HIV-negative. In the cumulative analysis, only history of imprisonment was a statistically significant determinant of infection by HCV or HBV in opiate users. CONCLUSION: The current policy of screening only HIV-positive drug users for HBV and HCV in Iran misses most cases of HBV and HCV infection. We therefore recommend urgent revision of the nationwide protocol by the Ministry of Health in Iran to implement routine screening of all opiate users and especially IDU for these viruses, regardless of their HIV status. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T01:27:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ea78ce6f9268463c8d3dce6f8b466c73 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T01:27:25Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-ea78ce6f9268463c8d3dce6f8b466c732022-12-21T18:43:35ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-01812e8223010.1371/journal.pone.0082230Blood-borne hepatitis in opiate users in iran: a poor outlook and urgent need to change nationwide screening policy.Behnam HonarvarNeda OdoomiMohsen MoghadamiParvin Afsar KazerooniAlireza HassanabadiParvin Zare DolatabadiEhsan FarzanfarKamran Bagheri LankaraniOBJECTIVE: Iran has the highest rate of opiate use worldwide. However, most opiate users are not screened for hepatitis virus infections. This study aimed to provide accurate, detailed data on the size of the opiate user population at risk of developing these infections. METHOD: This seroprevalence study was conducted in the city of Shiraz, southern Iran. All participants were screened for HBV, HCV and HIV infection. The data were analyzed with SPSS. RESULT: Among 569 participants, 233 (40.9%) were injection drug users (IDU), 369 (64.8%) were heterosexual, 84 (14.7%) were bisexual and 15 (2.6%) were homosexual. One hundred nine (19.1%) were HCV antibody-positive, 18 (3.1%) were HBS antigen-positive, 72 (12.6%) were HBc antibody-positive and 23 (4%) were HIV-positive. Among IDU compared to non-IDU, positivity rates for HBS antigen (5.5 vs 1.4%), HBc antibody (22.7 vs 5.6%), HCV antibody (40.3 vs 4.4%) and HIV (7.7 vs 1.4%) were higher (P < 0.05). Most patients with HBV (80.7%) and HCV infection (83.4%) were HIV-negative. In the cumulative analysis, only history of imprisonment was a statistically significant determinant of infection by HCV or HBV in opiate users. CONCLUSION: The current policy of screening only HIV-positive drug users for HBV and HCV in Iran misses most cases of HBV and HCV infection. We therefore recommend urgent revision of the nationwide protocol by the Ministry of Health in Iran to implement routine screening of all opiate users and especially IDU for these viruses, regardless of their HIV status.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3846675?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Behnam Honarvar Neda Odoomi Mohsen Moghadami Parvin Afsar Kazerooni Alireza Hassanabadi Parvin Zare Dolatabadi Ehsan Farzanfar Kamran Bagheri Lankarani Blood-borne hepatitis in opiate users in iran: a poor outlook and urgent need to change nationwide screening policy. PLoS ONE |
| title | Blood-borne hepatitis in opiate users in iran: a poor outlook and urgent need to change nationwide screening policy. |
| title_full | Blood-borne hepatitis in opiate users in iran: a poor outlook and urgent need to change nationwide screening policy. |
| title_fullStr | Blood-borne hepatitis in opiate users in iran: a poor outlook and urgent need to change nationwide screening policy. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Blood-borne hepatitis in opiate users in iran: a poor outlook and urgent need to change nationwide screening policy. |
| title_short | Blood-borne hepatitis in opiate users in iran: a poor outlook and urgent need to change nationwide screening policy. |
| title_sort | blood borne hepatitis in opiate users in iran a poor outlook and urgent need to change nationwide screening policy |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3846675?pdf=render |
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