County-Level Vulnerability Assessment for Rapid Dissemination of HIV or HCV Infections Among Persons Who Inject Drugs, United States.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

A recent HIV outbreak in a rural network of persons who inject drugs (PWID) underscored the intersection of the expanding epidemics of opioid abuse, unsterile injection drug use (IDU), and associated increases in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. We sought to identify US communities potentially vulnerable to rapid spread of HIV, if introduced, and new or continuing high rates of HCV infections among PWID.

Design

We conducted a multistep analysis to identify indicator variables highly associated with IDU. We then used these indicator values to calculate vulnerability scores for each county to identify which were most vulnerable.

Methods

We used confirmed cases of acute HCV infection reported to the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System, 2012-2013,

SUBMITTER: Van Handel MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5479631 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature