Uptake of HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C testing among injection drug users in Thailand

Abstract

Background: Behaviour related to injection drug use such as needle and syringe sharing and unsafe sex contribute to the transmission of blood-borne viral infections such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). Therefore, it is recommended that ongoing Injection Drug Users (IDUs) should receive screening for HIV, HBV and HCV at least once every 6 to 12 months. This study aims to estimate prevalence of HIV, HBV and HCV testing uptake among IDUs living in Songkhla Province, Thailand, and explore its associated factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 157 male IDUs living in Songkhla, in southern Thailand, between July 2013 and January 2014. Participants were recruited through a snowball technique where they were given a unique coded coupon. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire. Results: The most common test reported was HIV (72%), followed by HBV (44.6%) and HCV (39.5%) respectively. Over one quarter (26.1%) reported not having been tested in the past 12 months while 35.7% reported having been tested for all three viruses. IDUs who had visited an NGO-run drop-in centre, knew the risks of injection drug use, had completed secondary or higher education, had used heroin or amphetamine less than weekly, had received targeted information or education, or were married, and had a greater likelihood to report receiving all three tests. Discussion and conclusions: There is room for improvement in the utilisation of testing for blood-borne viral infections. More attention must be given to those participants who have never visited a health facility or a dropin centre, do not know the risks of injection drug use and do not receive targeted information or education. Particularly, IDUs who use drugs more frequently should be the first priority.

Risky injection practices and HCV awareness in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand: a respondent-driven sampling study of people who inject drugs

“…We suggest that access to treatment in rehabilitation centres should be open to PWID willing to participate and that prevention information on infectious diseases in these centres should be provided. As with other studies conducted in Thailand [29,30,57], we found very low HCV awareness and screening uptake among PWID in Chiang Mai. However, at the time of our study, PWID seemed to have confidence in health centres providing methadone.…”

“…One study among male PWID in Southern Thailand has evaluated the uptake of HCV testing at 39.5% [29], another among PWID in Bangkok at 33% [31], and yet another among HIV-positive PWID in Bangkok at 52.2% [30]. Compared to our results, these higher rates may be due to more contacts with harm reduction organizations where HCV testing is promoted.…”

“…This extremely high HCV prevalence among PWID concurs with global and regional estimates [28]. The few studies estimating HCV screening uptake among PWID in Thailand found low rates coupled with low awareness of the disease [29][30][31], suggesting that most PWID infected with HCV do not know their status. This lack of awareness is correlated with difficulties in accessing healthcare generally [32].…”

Factors associated with HCV test uptake in heroin users entering substitution treatment in Greece

“…Although attention has been paid to the importance and determinants of HCV treatment uptake among infected drug users , few studies have examined the prevalence of and the factors associated with testing uptake in this population . Importantly no study is known to the authors that has examined how individual PWID characteristics differentially associate with recent (i.e., in the past 12 months) and past or no HCV test uptake.…”