Objectives Within 5 years, 5 million
Russians may be infected with HIV. Currently, injection drug use is the
major risk factor for HIV. As Russia's alcohol consumption per capita is
among the highest in the world, alcohol-associated behaviours may be an
important contributor to the HIV epidemic. Our objective was to examine
the prevalence of HIV infection among drug- and alcohol-dependent patients
in a regional narcology hospital and in the general population in Leningrad.
Methods All patients in the Narcology Hospital,
Leningrad Regional Center of Addictions (LRCA), were tested for HIV antibody
between 1997 and 2001. We reviewed these clinical records (i.e. serostatus,
gender, age, and addiction) and data from the HIV/AIDS Center in the Leningrad
Region (1997-2001).
Results From 1997 to 2001, HIV prevalence
at the LRCA increased from 0 to 12.7% overall, 33.4% among drug-dependent
patients and 1.2% among alcohol-dependent patients. During the same 5-year
period (1997-2001), 2826 persons were registered at the HIV/AIDS Center:
6, 6, 51, 780, and 1983 persons in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001, respectively.
Conclusions HIV infection is exploding in
the Leningrad Region, currently in injection drug users (IDUs) but potentially
more broadly. The known high per capita alcohol intake in Russia heightens
concern regarding the sexual transmission of HIV. Interventions to prevent
such a development should include use, and assessment of the effectiveness,
of known HIV prevention measures for at-risk and infected individuals.
