Citation

Millson P, Myers T, Rankin J, McLaughlin B, Major C, Mindell W, Coates R, Rigby J, Strathdee S. Can. J. Public Health 1995; 86(3): 176-180.

Affiliation

Dept. of Preventive Medicine & Biostatistics, University of Toronto.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, Canadian Public Health Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7671202

Abstract

During 1989-90, interviews were conducted with 582 current injection drug users in the City of Toronto, 535 of whom also provided blood and/or saliva for anonymous unlinked HIV antibody testing. The rate of seropositivity identified was 4.3% (95% CI 3-6). The subjects were predominantly male, with a mean age of 28.3. The commonest drug of choice was cocaine (70%). Forty-six percent of the subjects reported using someone else's needle in the preceding six months, 60% of these indicating that they always cleaned it first. Eighty-one percent of those interviewed had been in jail at some time since they began injecting; 25% of these had injected while in custody, and of these 61% had shared injection equipment. Eighty-two percent of the men and 85.4% of the women reported opposite sex partners in the previous six months. Only about 20% of men reported consistent condom use, while 22% of females reported condom use at least 75% of the time.

Language: en