Table 1.
Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen, hepatitis C virus, and HIV by selected risk factors in injecting drug users and in those who reported never injecting drugs (non-injectors). Figures are numbers (percentages) of prisoners; 95% confidence intervals
| Total* | Antibodies
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hepatitis B core antigen | Hepatitis C | HIV | ||
| Total sample | 1193† | 104 (8.7); 7.2 to 10.5 | 442 (37.0); 34.3 to 39.9 | 24 (2.0); 1.3 to 3.0 |
| Injecting drug users | 509‡ | 94 (18.5); 15.2 to 22.1 | 414 (81.3); 77.7 to 84.6 | 18 (3.5); 2.1 to 5.5 |
| <30 years old | 382 | 51 (13.4); 10.1 to 17.2 | 312 (81.7); 77.4 to 85.4 | 6 (1.6); 0.6 to 3.4 |
| ⩾30 years old | 102 | 38 (37.3); 27.9 to 47.4 | 81 (79.4); 70.3 to 86.8 | 11 (10.8); 5.5 to 18.5 |
| Men | 475 | 88 (18.5); 15.1 to 22.3 | 390 (82.1); 78.4 to 85.5 | 17 (3.6); 2.1 to 5.7 |
| Women | 34 | 6 (17.7); 6.8 to 34.5 | 24 (70.6); 52.5 to 84.9 | 1 (2.9); 0.1 to 15.3 |
| High risk prison | 410 | 81 (19.8); 16.0 to 24.0 | 347 (84.6); 80.8 to 88.0 | 17 (4.2); 2.4 to 6.6 |
| Medium risk prison | 99 | 13 (13.1); 7.2 to 21.4 | 67 (67.7); 57.5 to 76.7 | 1 (1.0); 0.02 to 5.5 |
| Smoked heroin in past 12 months: | ||||
| Yes | 417 | 74 (17.8); 14.2 to 21.8 | 341 (81.8); 77.7 to 85.4 | 15 (3.6); 2.0 to 5.9 |
| No | 87 | 19 (21.8); 13.7 to 32.0 | 68 (978.2); 68.0 to 86.3 | 3 (3.5); 0.7 to 9.8 |
| Started injecting in prison: | ||||
| Yes | 104 | 11 (10.6); 5.4 to 18.1 | 80 (76.9); 67.6 to 84.6 | 4 (3.9); 1.1 to 9.6 |
| No | 397 | 82 (20.7); 16.8 to 25.0 | 329 (82.9); 78.8 to 86.5 | 14 (3.5); 1.9 to 5.9 |
| Times injected in past month: | ||||
| 0 | 221 | 40 (18.1); 13.3 to 23.8 | 177 (80.1); 74.2 to 85.2 | 7 (3.2); 1.3 to 6.4 |
| 1 to 19 | 139 | 26 (18.7); 12.6 to 26.2 | 119 (85.6); 78.7 to 91.0 | 6 (4.3); 1.6 to 9.6 |
| ⩾20 | 74 | 19 (25.7); 16.2 to 37.2 | 67 (90.5); 81.5 to 96.1 | 2 (2.7); 0.3 to 9.4 |
| Shared needles in prison: | ||||
| Yes | 347 | 68 (19.6); 15.6 to 24.2 | 314 (90.5); 86.9 to 93.4 | 12 (3.5); 1.8 to 6.0 |
| No | 145 | 26 (17.9); 12.1 to 25.2 | 90 (62.1); 53.6 to 70.0 | 6 (4.1); 1.5 to 8.9 |
| Attended methadone programme before committal: | ||||
| Yes | 185 | 46 (24.9); 18.8 to 31.7 | 150 (81.1); 76.7 to 86.5 | 8 (4.3); 1.9 to 8.3 |
| No | 312 | 48 (15.4); 11.6 to 19.9 | 259 (83.0); 78.4 to 87.0 | 10 (3.2); 1.6 to 5.8 |
| Started or completed hepatitis B vaccine: | ||||
| Yes | 298 | 49 (16.4); 12.4 to 21.2 | NA | NA |
| No | 178 | 38 (21.4); 15.6 to 28.1 | NA | NA |
| Did not know status | 23 | 5 | ||
| Non-injectors | 669‡ | 10 (1.5); 0.7 to 2.7 | 25 (3.7); 2.4 to 5.5 | 6 (0.9); 0.3 to 1.9 |
| <30 years old | 404 | 1 (0.3); 0.01 to 1.4 | 13 (3.2); 1.7 to 5.4 | 2 (0.5); 0.1 to 1.8 |
| ⩾30 years old | 237 | 9 (3.8); 1.8 to 7.1 | 10 (4.2); 2.0 to 7.6 | 4 (1.7); 0.5 to 4.3 |
| Men | 646 | 9 (1.4); 0.6 to 2.6 | 25 (3.9); 2.5 to 5.7 | 6 (0.9); 0.3 to 2.0 |
| Women | 23 | 1 (4.4); 0.1 to 22.0 | 0; 0.0 to 14.8 | 0; 0.0 to 14.8 |
| High risk prison | 297 | 6 (2.0); 0.8 to 4.4 | 15 (5.1); 2.9 to 8.2 | 3 (1.0); 0.2 to 2.9 |
| Medium risk prison | 372 | 4 (1.1); 0.3 to 2.7 | 10 (2.7); 1.3 to 4.9 | 3 (0.8); 0.2 to 2.3 |
| Smoked heroin in past 12 months: | ||||
| Yes | 119 | 2 (1.7); 0.2 to 5.9 | 11 (9.2); 4.7 to 15.9 | 0; 0.0 to 3.1 |
| No | 546 | 8 (1.5); 0.6 to 2.9 | 14 (2.6); 1.4 to 4.3 | 6 (1.1); 0.4 to 2.4 |
| Men ever had anal sex with men: | ||||
| Yes | 12 | 2 (16.7); 2.1 to 48.4 | 2 (16.7); 2.1 to 48.4 | 3 (25.0); 5.5 to 57.2 |
| No | 617 | 7 (1.1); 0.5 to 2.3 | 23 (3.7); 2.4 to 5.5 | 3 (0.5); 0.1 to 1.4 |
| Started or completed course of hepatitis B vaccine: | ||||
| Yes | 201 | 5 (2.5); 0.8 to 5.7 | NA | NA |
| No | 360 | 5 (1.4); 0.5 to 3.2 | NA | NA |
| Did not know status | 83 | 0 | ||
NA=not applicable.
Numbers do not always add up to total because not all respondents answered all questions.
Antibody prevalence estimated in 1193 respondents with analysable oral fluid samples (10 respondents did not provide sample and two samples were inadequate for laboratory analysis).
Antibody prevalence among injecting drug users (509) and in those who reported never injecting drugs (non-injectors, 669) estimated in those with analysable samples who also answered question “Have you ever injected drugs?” (1178); 15 respondents with analysable samples did not declare injecting drug use.