Background: Two different studies were carried out to determine the rate of HIV incidence among illicit drug users receiving medical services in a NYC DTC between 1994 and 1999: 1) a longitudinal study involving medical chart review on clients who received multiple HIV Counseling and Testing services; and 2) an unlinked, blinded seroincidence study of all new admits utilizing the STARHS assay for identifying recent infections. Methods: In the longitudinal study, HIV incidence was calculated as the number of new HIV seroconversions per 100 person-years of follow-up. In the seroincidence study, annual incidence rates were calculated using the Satten cross-sectional incidence estimator. Results: A total of 5,210 counseling and testing records were reviewed for the longitudinal study, resulting in a study cohort of 1,846 individuals and 27 seroconverters. HIV seroconversion rates ranged from 0.35 per 100 person-years in 1994 to 0.42 in 1999. Among 13,796 specimens tested in the seroincidence study, 2,782 were HIV positive and 60 of these were found to be recent HIV infections. The annual incidence rates ranged from 2.27 in 1994 to 1.56 in 1999. Conclusions: Despite declining HIV prevalence trends reported in recent years among the drug using population, HIV incidence continues to occur at a steady rate. Overlap of identified new infections between the two studies was not observed, indicating that HIV incidence rate found by any single-study design may be significantly underreported.
Learning Objectives: N/A
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Drug Use
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.