Abstract
In Taiwan, the number of new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection via drug injection has been increasing since 2003. Due to HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) having similar transmission routes, HBV and HIV infections among injecting drug users (IDUs) has become an important public health issue. The aim of this study was explore the prevalence of HBV infection among IDUs with and without HIV infection, and examine whether HIV infection is associated with HBV infection among IDUs in Southern Taiwan. We enrolled 566 IDUs, including 87 anti-HBV positive IDUs and 479 anti-HBV negative IDUs, and also analyzed the results of liver function tests, HBV DNA, anti-HIV, HIV RNA, and CD4 cell count. The results showed that the prevalence of HBV infection among IDUs was 15.4%. The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was higher among individuals born before 1985 (15.9% vs. 4.0%), but this was not significant. Anti-HIV seropositivity was related to HBsAg seropositivity [odds ratio (OR) = 2.47, 95% confidence interval = 1.26-4.82, p = 0.008). Anti-HCV and anti-HIV were risk factors for abnormal alanine aminotransferase (ALT; OR = 2.11, 95% confidence interval = 1.005-4.42, p = 0.048 and OR = 1.47, 95% confidence interval = 1.02-2.10, p = 0.04, respectively), and HBsAg was not a factor related to abnormal ALT. In conclusion, the prevalence of HBV infection was similar in the general population and in IDUs, and due to anti-HIV seropositivity being significantly related to HBsAg seropositivity, HBV infection among IDUs is still important. We suggest that for IDUs, HBsAg should be monitored closely.