Non-injection drug use and hepatitis C among drug treatment clients in west central Mexico

• Published in: Drug and alcohol dependence 2012-06, Vol.123 (1), p.269-272
• Main Authors: Campollo, Octavio, Roman, Sonia, Panduro, Arturo, Hernandez, Gabriel, Diaz-Barriga, Lino, Balanzario, Mario C, Cunningham, James K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Addictive behaviors; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Age Factors; Biological and medical sciences; Desintoxication. Drug withdrawal; Drug abuse; Drug addiction; Female; Hepatitis B - epidemiology; Hepatitis B virus; Hepatitis C; Hepatitis C - complications; Hepatitis C - epidemiology; Hepatitis C virus; HIV; HIV Infections - epidemiology; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mexico; Mexico - epidemiology; Non-injection drug use; Prevalence; Prison; Prisons; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Risk Factors; Risk-Taking; Sex Factors; Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; Substance-Related Disorders - complications; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tattooing; Treatment; Treatments; Unsafe Sex; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0376-8716; 1879-0046
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2011.11.009

Abstract Background Research on hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence among non-injecting drug treatment clients in the United States, Europe and Asia indicate substantial differences by place. To date, little or no research on HCV and non-injection drug use (NIDU) has been conducted in Mexico. Methods We examined the prevalence of HCV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), and HIV among non-injecting drug users (NIDUs) in community-based drug treatment ( N = 122) and NIDUs in a prison-based drug treatment program ( N = 30), both located in west central Mexico. Results Among the community clients, prevalence was 4.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.8–9.2) for HCV, 5.7% for HBV (95% CI: 2.8–11.4), and 1.6% for HIV (95% CI: 0.4–5.8). Among the in-prison clients, prevalence was 40.0% (95% CI: 24.6–57.7) for HCV, 20.0% for HBV (95% CI: 9.5–37.3), and 6.7% for HIV (95% CI: 1.9–21.3). None of the clients were aware of being infected. Conclusion The HCV prevalence found for the NIDU community treatment clients ranks among the lower HCV estimates published for NIDUs in treatment to date. The prevalence found for the in-prison clients ranks among the higher, raising a concern of possible elevated HCV infection among NIDUs in the west central Mexico prison—one compounded by the finding that none of this study's clients knew they were HCV positive.