ABSTRACT
HIV-1 prevalence was studied in 1,890 metamphetamine users from Thanyarak Hospital from 1999 to 2000. 64.8 per cent positive urine metamphetamine and 2.3 per cent positive urine opiate were observed. The most common route of the drug intake was 93.92 per cent inhalation. HIV-1 prevalence was 2.44 per cent (95% Confidence interval; 1.65-3.18%). 44 out of 46 HIV-1 infected cases were typeable as 32 (72.73%) subtype E and the rest of subtype B'. Active opiate users had a higher rate of HIV-1 infection, 15.91 per cent, compared to 2.11 per cent of the non-opiate users (Fisher's exact test p=0.0002). This group of metamphetamine users is important to public health and more attention on intervention efforts towards HIV infection is urgently needed.
Subject(s)
HIV Infections/epidemiology , HIV-1/isolation & purification , Methamphetamine/adverse effects , Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Age Distribution , Comorbidity , Female , HIV Infections/diagnosis , HIV Seronegativity , HIV Seropositivity , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Population Surveillance , Prevalence , Risk Factors , Sex Distribution , Substance-Related Disorders/diagnosis , Thailand/epidemiologyABSTRACT
CCR5, a chemokine receptor, is the principal coreceptor for macrophage-tropic HIV-1 which is the most important variant for viral transmission. It has been demonstrated that a homozygous genotype of a 32-bp deletion in CCR5 gene (delta32CCR5) shows a high degree of resistance to HIV-1 infection. To demonstrate that delta32CCR5 does exist in Thai natives, the CCR5 genotypes and allelic frequencies in 860 Thai injecting drug users (IDUs) were determined by PCR and DNA sequencing. Of these, six (0.7%) were CCR5/delta32CCR5 heterozygotes and no homozygote was found. The overall delta32CCR5 allelic frequency was 0.0035 and in HIV-1 seronegative (n = 490) and seropositive (n = 370) IDUs were 0.0051 and 0.0004, respectively, which were not significantly different (p = 0.3776). Here we report that the delta32CCR5 does exist in Thai IDUs as it is present in other human races. Such low allelic frequency may indicate that this mutation does not attribute a significant role in HIV-1 transmission in Thai IDUs.
Subject(s)
HIV Infections/genetics , HIV-1 , Mutation , Receptors, CCR5/genetics , Substance Abuse, Intravenous/genetics , Adult , Alleles , Cohort Studies , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Genotype , HIV Infections/epidemiology , HIV Infections/ethnology , HIV Seronegativity , HIV Seropositivity/genetics , Heterozygote , Humans , Male , Prevalence , Thailand/ethnologyABSTRACT
A total of 1,800 blood specimens (1,000 from healthy blood donors, 300 from patients with sexually transmitted disease, and 500 from intravenous drug users) were simultaneously tested with anti-human immunodeficiency virus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits and a newly developed 2-min test for anti-human immunodeficiency virus based on the principle of autologous erythrocyte agglutination (AGEN Biomedical Limited). We found that AGEN's rapid test was as sensitive and specific as the other ELISA kits.
Subject(s)
AIDS Serodiagnosis/methods , HIV Antibodies/blood , HIV-1/immunology , Hemagglutination Tests/methods , Blood Donors , Evaluation Studies as Topic , HIV Seroprevalence , Hemagglutination Tests/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Sensitivity and Specificity , Sexually Transmitted Diseases , Substance Abuse, Intravenous , Time FactorsABSTRACT
The prevalence of antibodies to delta virus (anti-delta) in the selected groups of hepatitis B surface antigenemia population was investigated. The subjects were 84 intravenous drug abusers; 20 chronic hepatitis, 12 cirrhosis, 6 primary hepatocellular carcinoma and 46 asymptomatic healthy carriers. Anti-delta was detected in 65.48% of intravenous drug abusers, 11.11% of chronic active hepatitis and 8.33% of cirrhosis cases. None of asymptomatic carriers had anti-delta. In addition, 51 acute icteric hepatitis B patients who were positive for HBs Ag and 20 IV drug abusers positive for anti-HBc only (HBsAg and anti-HBs negative) were negative for anti-delta.
