Information from the Unlinked Anonymous Monitoring Survey of HIV and Viral Hepatitis among Injecting Drug Users is presented from 1990 to 2009. This survey looks at infectious diseases in a sample of around 3,000 injectors each year.
Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are bloodborne infections which cause inflammation of the liver and can cause long-term liver damage. Hepatitis B can be prevented through vaccination. There is no vaccine for Hepatitis C although treatment, using a combination of drugs, is successful in clearing the virus from the blood of around 40 per cent of those treated.
The HPA report reveals that in 2009 uptake of the vaccine for Hepatitis B among the injecting drug users surveyed was 73 per cent - up from 25 per cent in 1998. It is hoped that this increase in people who have been vaccinated is now having an impact on reducing transmission of Hepatitis B among IDUs - the number of injectors who have been infected with hepatitis B at some point has fallen in recent years.
In contrast, levels of infection with Hepatitis C have increased from 38 per cent in 2000 to 47 per cent in 2009. 1,538 of those surveyed in 2009 had been infected at some point, compared with 1,318 in 2000. This increase has been seen mainly among injectors under the age of 25, where infection levels almost doubled, from 15 per cent in 2000 to 26 per cent in 2009.
The majority of injectors questioned had used a needle exchange centre at some point (nearly 92 per cent), however some sharing of equipment was still taking place with nearly 40 per cent reporting having shared injecting equipment in the past month.
The Health Protection Agency survey also looked at treatment being undertaken for drug use. Over 2,300 people (73 per cent) surveyed in 2009 were receiving treatment for their drug use, either by taking up a detox or maintenance drug regime, which is the highest level recorded, compared to 65 per cent of those surveyed in 1996.
The reported social circumstances of IDUs revealed that three quarters had been homeless at some point. The number who had been to prison had increased over the years of the study. In 2000 nearly 1,907 of those questioned reported having been to prison compared to 2,266 of those asked in 2009.
Dr Fortune Ncube, head of the Bloodborne Viruses Section at the Health Protection Agency, said: "Our surveillance shows the mixed picture of the health and social circumstances of injecting drug users and how that changes over a period of time.
"It is extremely good news that the numbers of injecting drug users who are taking up Hepatitis B vaccination is increasing as this will make a difference to their long-term health and hopefully reduce the spread of the disease among other users and the general population.
"The increase in the number of cases of Hepatitis C in younger people is a concern and more will have to be done to work with these hard to reach groups to help them to protect their health. Much has already been done by drug treatment agencies to engage with drug users and the steady increase in the number of people seeking drug treatment is a sign of the success of these programmes."
The findings of the survey are available in the Health Protection Report (link).
Source: HPA (Health Protection Agency), UK