Incidence of hepatitis C virus and HIV among new injecting drug users in London: prospective cohort study

Abstract

In England, the low prevalence of HIV among injecting drug users during the 1990s was attributed in part to the introduction of harm reduction interventions in the late 1980s. Also, the prevalence of hepatitis C virus in the late 1990s was thought to be relatively low compared with other countries, at around 40% overall and 15% among those who had been injecting drugs for less than six years.1 We carried out a prospective cohort study of new injecting drug users in London to estimate the incidence of hepatitis C virus and HIV. In 2001, we recruited from community settings mainly in London, but also in Brighton, 428 injecting drug users who were aged below 30 years or had been injecting for six years or fewer. All had injected in the previous four weeks and could provide addresses for follow up. They completed interviewer administered questionnaires and provided oral fluid specimens and optionally dried capillary blood spots for testing for antibodies to hepatitis C virus and HIV using published methods.2 3 They were followed up 12 months later. …