ABSTRACT
During January-April, 2000, 12 cases of acute hepatitis B were reported in Pierce County, Washington, compared with seven in all of 1999. Seven (58.3%) case patients were injection drug users (IDUs), three of whom were coinfected with hepatitis D virus (HDV) and died of fulminant hepatitis. Vaccination clinics were implemented at the local health department and needle exchange program to control the outbreak. We investigated this outbreak to determine risk factors for hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission among IDUs. Hepatitis B cases were ascertained through routine surveillance and prevaccination testing at vaccination clinics. We conducted a case-control study comparing IDU case patients with HBV-susceptible IDUs identified at the vaccination clinics. Fifty-eight case patients were identified during January-December, 2000, 20 (34.5%) of whom were coinfected with HDV. Thirty-eight case patients (65.5%) reported current IDU. In the case-control study, the 17 case patients were more likely than the 141 controls to report having more than one sex partner [odds ratio (OR) =4.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) =1.5-15.0], injecting more than four times a day (OR = 4.5, 95% CI =1.2-15.6) and sharing drug cookers with more than two people (58.8% vs. 14.0%, OR =14.0, 95% CI =2.4-81.5). Results were similar after controlling for syringe sharing in multivariable analysis. IDUs should be vaccinated against hepatitis B and should be advised against sharing drug injection equipment.
Subject(s)
Disease Outbreaks , Hepatitis B/epidemiology , Hepatitis D/epidemiology , Substance Abuse, Intravenous/epidemiology , Acute Disease , Adolescent , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Female , Hepatitis B/etiology , Hepatitis B/prevention & control , Hepatitis D/etiology , Hepatitis D/prevention & control , Humans , Immunization Programs , Male , Middle Aged , Needle-Exchange Programs , Risk Factors , Sexual Behavior , Substance Abuse, Intravenous/complications , Urban HealthABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to assess stability of population-level injection risk behavior over time among participants in a syringe exchange program and compare factors affecting syringe sharing at two points in time. Participants of the Tacoma Syringe Exchange Program were interviewed in 1997 and 2001 using audio computer assisted self-interviewing technology. In each wave of data collection, a random cross section of participants was recruited and interviewed, with no attempt made to follow respondents over time. Rates of injection risk behavior remained stable across the 4-year period, despite increases in factors associated with syringe sharing. Homelessness, rates of depression symptoms, and injection of amphetamines all increased from 1997 to 2001. The central factors associated with syringe sharing in both 1997 and 2001 were depression symptoms and the interaction of younger age with amphetamine injection. The data indicate that the exchange has been able to stabilize risk among a high-risk population for a substantial period of time. This study confirms previous findings that SEPs can play a significant role in the prevention of HIV in marginal and impoverished communities in the United States.
