Open AccessReported prevalence of hepatitis C among clients of needle exchanges in southeast Queensland
Author(s) -
Selvey Linda A.,
Wignall Joan,
Buzolic Adrian,
Sullivan Paul
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 1326-0200
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-842x.1996.tb01338.x
Subject(s) - medicine , hepatitis c , environmental health , family medicine , geography , demography , virology , sociology
The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis C infection among attenders of several high‐volume needle exchanges in southeast Queensland, and to compare the prevalences among the needle exchanges. Clients at four needle exchanges were surveyed over a five‐day period by means of a self‐administered questionnaire. A high proportion of respondents (76 per cent) reported having been tested for hepatitis C antibodies and the overall prevalence of reported hepatitis C infection was 34 per cent. Thirty‐one per cent of the respondents were amphetamine injectors, among whom there was a lower prevalence of reported hepatitis C infection than among opioid injectors (odds ratio 0.18, P < 0.01). There were some differences in the respondents' characteristics and in hepatitis C prevalence between different needle exchanges. The reported prevalence of HIV infection was 2 per cent. This study highlights the importance of surveying a range of needle exchanges to obtain a representative sample of needle‐exchange clients overall. The low prevalence of hepatitis C in some groups of injecting drug users suggests that it is possible to prevent hepatitis C transmission among injecting drug users, and points to the opportunity for aiming hepatitis C prevention strategies at these groups.