Investigation On HIV And HCV Infection And Combined HIV/HCV Infection Among Sentinel Population Of Drug Addicts In Xinjiang

Objective: To understand the incidence of HIV and HCV infection and combined HIV/HCV infection and the epidemiological characteristics among the sentinel population of drug addicts in Xinjiang, so as to provide a foundation for formulating a comprehensive measure on HIV and HCV infection control. Methods: In accordance with the regional and distributive characters of drug addicts in Xinjiang, the population of drug addicts in the sentinel sites of Urumqi City, Yili State, Kashi and Aksu Prefectures were selected for investigation and, from the sites mentioned above, the samples of 1,000, 1,000 , 500 and 500, respectively, were collected from 2006 to 2007, with a total samples of 3,000. ELISA was employed to detect HIV and HCV infection. The screening test, the reexamination and confirmation of the findings were rigorously carried out under the guidance of the instruction, and the results were assessed according to corresponding technical regulation issued by authorities. The surveillance registration tables of drug addicts were filled for statistical study and analysis. Results: The infection rates of HIV and HCV among the collected 3,000 drug addicts were 28.5% and 55.0%, respectively. The combined HIV/HCV infection rate was 27.7%. 97.1% objects with positive HIV were co-infected with HCV. The infection rates of HIV, HCV and combined HIV/HCV in drug addicts from the four sentinel sites mentioned above were: Urumqi City, 26.3%, 72.3% and 25.5%; Yili State, 45.6%, 61.5% and 45.1%; Aksu Prefecture, 19.2%, 41.4% and 18.0%; and Kashi Prefecture, 8.2%, 21.0% and 7 %. Significant differences were found on the infection rates of HIV, HCV and combined HIV/HCV infection between intravenous drug users and non-intravenous drug users(HIV,χ2=448.057,P=0.0001;HCV,χ2=834.273,P=0.0001;HIV/HCV,χ2=823.824,P=0.0001) in Xinjiang. There existed significant differences in HIV, HCV and combined HIV/HCV infection among the populations of drug addicts of the four sentinel site(sHIV,χ2=268.018,P=0.0001;HCV,χ2=408.897, P=0.0001;HIV/HCV,χ2=284.060,P=0.0001). The HCV infection rate in HIV-positive objects was higher than that in HIV-negative objects(χ2=856.909,P=0.0001). Conclusions: High combined HIV/HCV infection rate exists in the drug addicts of Xinjiang, and what is more, the even worse is that most HIV positives have co-infected with HCV. It is clear that the infection rates of HIV, HCV and combined HIV/HCV infection in intravenous drug users are higher obviously than that in non-intravenous drug users. The HCV, HIV and combined HIV/HCV infection rates in the sentinel drug users of Urumqi City and Yili State are higher than that of Aksu and Kashi regions.