High Hepatitis C Prevalence in Medium-Term Residential Addiction Treatment Centers in Kurdistan Province, Iran, 2018

Background: Using medium-term residential addiction treatment centers or camps is a routine intervention in Iran. Objectives: The present study aimed at evaluating the seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among addicts kept in drug addiction camps in Kurdistan province of Iran. Patients and Methods: The current cross sectional study was conducted on 444 drug abusers engaged in the recovery process residing in 12 rehabilitation camps in Kurdistan province, Iran in 2018. The potential risk factors were collected through a checklist and assessed mainly via a standard validated questionnaire. Participants were also tested for anti-HCV, HBsAg (hepatitis B virus surface antigen), and anti-HIV IgG. Data were analyzed by descriptive methods and logistic regression model in SPSS version 21. Results: Totally, 444 drug abusers, 98.4% male and 1.6% female, included in the study, out of which 64 (14.4%) subjects had HCV infection and two (0.4%) had coinfection with HBV and HIV based on the results of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Higher age, single marital status, history of drug injection, and tattooing were significant factors related to HCV infection. Conclusions: The obtained results demonstrated that seroprevalence of HCV among addicts engaged in the recovery process in rehabilitation camps was high. High prevalence of HCV and risk of infection transmission to other addicts in camps should be considered as one of the concerns of the health system in Iran.