Prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV infections and high-risk behaviors among women referred to drop-in centers in Lorestan Province, western Iran

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are known as the most common blood-borne viral infections worldwide. Individuals referring to drop-in centers (DICs) are considered high-risk people exposed to infection with blood-borne viruses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV infections among women referred to DICs in Lorestan Province, western Iran. During this cross-sectional study, after obtaining informed consent and completing a demographic form, two blood samples were collected from 118 women referred to Lorestan DICs to be evaluated for HIV, HBV, and HCV infections. Accordingly, the samples were first screened by using the most common serological methods and then by Real-Time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect viral genomes. The results were analyzed using Chi-square statistical test and binary logistic regressions. Out of the 118 blood samples, 8 (6.8%), 4 (3.4%), and 10 (8.5%) subjects tested positive for HIV, HBV, and HCV infection, respectively. Furthermore, our study showed that 5 (4.2%) subjects were positive for HCV/HIV coinfection and 3 (2.5%) cases for HBV/HCV coinfection. Moreover, our data revealed that incarceration and STDs were the most important risk factors for HIV (odds ratio [OR]=15.27; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.74-62.89; P=0.01) and HBV (OR=16; 95% CI 1.57-42.34); P=0.018) infections, respectively. Our results suggested that women referring to DICs are at risk of infection with blood-borne viruses due to risky behaviors. Thus, precise diagnostic testing and implementation of preventive methods against blood and sexually transmitted infections are urgent in these high-risk groups.