Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jul 2014
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Page: A15
Cited: B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS: http://www.cfenet.ubc.ca/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?143 (Hepatitis)

STREET KIDS' RISK OF HEPATITIS C ALARMINGLY HIGH, STUDY FINDS

Vancouver street youth face an alarmingly high risk of hepatitis C 
infection because of a high incidence of injection drug use, 
according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal.

The B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS tracked youth aged 14 to 
26 over the course of six years.

Of 940 people recruited between September 2005 and November 2011, 100 
tested positive for the disease at the outset.

Of the people 512 who tested negative at the beginning and showed up 
for at least one subsequent visit, 56 were positive in follow-up 
tests - 10.9 per cent. And of those 512 youth, 166 - about 32 per 
cent - reported prior use of injection drugs.

"We found that the risk for (hepatitis C virus) acquisition among 
street youth in this setting was alarmingly high, and that 
intravenous drug injection remains a primary risk factor," said the 
study, led by Dr. Scott Hadland.

The study was also the first to look at the risk of hepatitis 
infection from injecting opioids like oxycodone and morphine, which 
is on the rise throughout North America.

It found that while the risk of infection is elevated by the 
injection use of heroin, cocaine and crystal meth, it does not appear 
to increase with opioid injection.

The researchers acknowledged that there was a relatively small number 
of youth in the study who engaged in prescription opioid misuse.

This could have limited the ability to measure risk in opioid users, 
according to the researchers.

It is also possible, the study said, that opioid users may not be as 
entrenched in the local drug scene and, therefore, may not associate 
frequently with hepatitis-positive drug users.

Either way, the excessive risk of infection among street youth 
requires specific prevention and mitigation strategies, the study found.

The street youth are a marginalized and difficult-to-reach 
population, Hadland wrote.

- - The Canadian Press
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom