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March 2002, Vol 92, No. 3 | American Journal of Public Health 385-387
© 2002 American Public Health Association

RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Age-Specific Seroprevalence of HIV, Hepatitis B Virus, and Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among Injection Drug Users Admitted to Drug Treatment in 6 US Cities

Christopher S. Murrill, PhD, MPH, Howard Weeks, MD, Brian C. Castrucci, BA, Hillard S. Weinstock, MD, MPH, Beth P. Bell, MD, MPH, Catherine Spruill, MS and Marta Gwinn, MD, MPH

Christopher S. Murrill, Howard Weeks, Brian C. Castrucci, and Hillard S. Weinstock are with the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Ga. Beth P. Bell is with the Division of Viral Hepatitis, National Center for Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Ga. Catherine Spruill is with the National Center for Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Ga. Marta Gwinn is with the National Center for Environmental Health, CDC, Atlanta, Ga.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Christopher S. Murrill, PhD, MPH, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention—Surveillance and Epidemiology, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, NE, Mail Stop E-46, Atlanta, GA 30333 (e-mail: csm5{at}cdc.gov).

Objectives. This study measured age-specific seroprevalence of HIV, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among injection drug users (IDUs) admitted to drug treatment programs in 6 US cities.

Methods. Remnant sera collected from persons entering treatment with a history of illicit drug injection were tested for antibodies to HIV, hepatitis C (anti-HCV), and hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc).

Results. Prevalence of anti-HBc and anti-HCV increased with age and reached 80% to 100% among older IDUs in all 6 cities. Although overall age-specific HIV prevalence was lower than anti-HCV or anti-HBc, this prevalence was greater in the Northeast than in the Midwest and West.

Conclusions. The need continues for effective primary prevention programs among IDUs specifically targeting young persons who have recently started to inject drugs. (Am J Public Health. 2002;92:385–387)






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