Prevalence of HIV infection in inmates with history of injection drug use and evaluation of risk factors, in Isfahan, Iran

Objective: hiv/aids is a serious problem for prison populations in the world. studies show a significantly higher prevalence of hiv among prisoners than the general population. injection drug users (idus) in prison are high risk population for hiv transmission because of their risky behavior such as needle sharing for drug injection. in this study, we determined the prevalence of hiv-ab among prisoners with history of idu in isfahan provincial prisons and evaluated risk factors for hiv transmission among them. methodology: in a cross-sectional study, in march 2009, 970 inmates with history of drug injection in prison, who agreed to participate in our study, completed demographic and risk factors questionnaire. blood samples were obtained from them. then samples were tested for the presence of hiv-ab by using elisa and positive elisa results were confirmed by western blot. odds ratio and logistic regression were used for data analysis and p-value < 0.05 considered significant. result: the overall prevalence of hiv-ab among idus in our study was 6.4%. needle sharing was determined as significant risk factor (or:1.97 ,95%ci:1.06-3.66). conclusion: according to our results and relatively high prevalence of hiv infection, educational and needle/syringe exchange program also tracing infected inmates in prisons should be an essential action for control and prevention of hiv in high risk population such as injection drug users.