بررسي ميزان شيوع عفونت هپاتيت C و عوامل خطرزا در زندانيان معتاد به مواد مخدر

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Hepatitis C Infection in Addicted Prisoners

Introduction and Objectives: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)is the cause of 90- 950/0 of blood -transfer hepatitis. The of hepatitis is 3% and includes a population of more than 180 million people. Up to 90% of carriers may progress to chronic liver disease. Injection drug abusers are currently the main risk group.. Among Intravenous drug abusers over the world, the of (HCV) infection prevalence varies from 50-90% with an annual incidence of 10-30%. Prison is a high risk environment because of high incidence of drug abuse and high risk of sexual activities. Seroloqic evidence shows that HCV infection is present in one out of every three prisoners. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of HCV Antigen positive prisoners and risk factors in addicted prisoners. . Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive-analytic study. In September 2002 in one of the Iranian prisons 312 addicted men participated in the study by random sampling. Their blood samples were examined through third generation enzyme immunoassay test (EIA-3: sensitivity 100%, specificity 100%) in a blood transfusion center. 230 questionnaires (74%) were completed by prisoners. Samples were matched for mediating variables. Finally, risk factors were compared in 82 anti-HCV positive addicts (case group) and 148 anti-HCV negative addicts (control group) . Results: 96 prisoners were antl-HCV positive The prevalence of HCV infection was found to be 30.8%. Major risk factors in case group were as follows. duration of addiction (Mean=174 months), duration of Imprisonment (Mean= 48 months), way of drug use (injection 82% and intranasal 44%), length of alcohol consumption( 60% more than five years), tattooing(66%), share use of needles (31%) and of razors(53%), Multiple sexual partners (>74%) and the type of drug (especially heroin 90% and hashish 64%) (p<0.05). Conclusion: Hepatitis C infection had a considerable prevalence In addicted prisoners. High risk and unsafe behaviors were the main factors of contamination