Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B Markers among incarcerated intravenous drug users

Drug injection is one of the most prominent risk factors for transmission of viral hepatitis. Prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is generally higher in prisoners compared with the general population. Th e object of this study was to assess the markers of HBV and related risk factors among intravenous drug users (IVDU) in prisoners.

Th rough a cross-sectional study in 2012 HBV infection and its risk factors were assessed in prisoners with a history of intravenous drug use in Isfahan, Iran. A checklist was fulfi lled for each participant and 5 ml blood was taken from each subject. Sera were analyzed for markers of the hepatitis B: Hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg), antibody to hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAb) and hepatitis B virus core antibody (HBcAb) by ELISA. We used Chi-square test and logistic regression model to analyze data and P < 0.05 was considered to be signifi cant.

All of the studied participants (n = 970) were men. Th e mean ± standard deviation of the age of the subjects was 32.61 ± 8.1 years and the majority of them had less than high school education. More than 40% of these men had a history of injection drug inside prison and 2.27% of them self-reported history of HBV infection. Of the 970 IVDU, 32 (3.3%) were positive for HBsAg. Among HBsAg + subjects, 23 (71.88%) were HBcAb+. 120 (12.37%) were found positive for isolated HBsAb, 45 (4.64%) for isolated HBcAb and 67 (6.9%) for both HBsAb and HBcAb. History of sharing needle (odds ratio: 2.25, 95% confi dence interval: 1.09-4.65) had a signifi cant association with HBsAg positivity.

Th e results suggest that history of sharing needle had a signifi cant association with HBsAg positivity. It seems that educational programs for injecting drug related behaviors, especially syringe sharing, are needed for IVDU.