HIV infection; prevalence among intravenous drug users

ABSTRACT

Human immune deficiency virus [HIV] infection was a major health problem all over the world. The infection had become pandemic and no country was immune. The main burden of disease was shared by developing countries and their crippled economies were unable to deal with it. As a result the number of HIV patients were increasing day by day. Treatment was expensive and preventive measures were not effective. The intravenous drug users [IDUs] were major contributors in its spread. To assess the prevalence of HIV infection by determining the frequency of HIV infection in intravenous drug users.Cross-sectional study. Rehabilitation center for IDU,s in District Headquarter Hospital Faisalabad [DHQ], a Tertiary Care Hospital, Affiliated with Punjab Medical College during Jan.2013 to Dec.2013. Subjects and All I. V. drug users attending the rehabilitation center of D.H.Q. hospital were included in the study. All were subjected to be screened for HIV/AIDS infection. Total 352 patients attended the center. Each patient was given a code number to hide the identity and results of tests were kept secret. The blood samples were collected and labeled with respected code on it. Total 352 intravenous drug users were enrolled at rehabilitation center and 96 were tested positive for HIV infection. Another 62 belonged to urban area and 34 belonged to rural area. About 80 were living with their families and 16 were living out of their families. The 78% were not having sufficient earnings for their living. Intravenous drug users were threat to public health in transmitting HIV infection by sharing needles