HIV Seroprevalence in Intravenous Drug Users: Los Angeles, California, 1986

• NCJ Number: 114967
• Journal: American Journal of Public Health Volume: 79 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1989) Pages: 81-82
• Author(s): L Mascola; L Lieb; K A Iwakoshi; D McAllister; T Siminowski; M Giles; G Run; S L Fannin; I H Strantz
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 2 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Free online PDF and HTML access to the American Journal of Public Health is provided by the publisher 24 months after individual issues are released.

Annotation

To estimate the seroprevalence and investigate the risk behaviors for HIV infection in intravenous drug users in Los Angeles County, a stratified random sample of 790 clients enrolled in either methadone maintenance or detoxification programs between April and July 1986 was studied.

Abstract

Of these, 13 were seropositive, 5 were bisexual/homosexual males, and 3 were female prostitutes. Of participants, 95 percent reported sharing needles. Compared to seronegatives, seropostives were likely to have higher annual salaries, inject drugs in shooting galleries, and speedball (combine cocaine and heroin) or boot (withdraw blood into the syringe before injecting). Further, seropositives were more likely than seronegatives to have been previously incarcerated. The HIV seroprevalance rate of 1.8 percent among intravenous drug users was surprisingly low for this large metropolitan area. The epidemiological characteristics are consistent with the low seropositivity rates found in this study. Possible explanations for this low rate, compared with rates found on the East Coast, may be related to differences in patterns of drug use and the sexual and ethnic makeup of the sample. Risk reduction efforts among this population must be expanded before the HIV prevalence rate increases. 1 table, 1 note, and 6 references. (Author abstract modified)