Risk behaviours and hepatitis C infection among Indo-Chinese initiates to injecting drug use in Sydney, Australia

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of risk behaviours and hepatitis C infection among Indo-Chinese initiates to heroin use. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting and participants: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Indo-Chinese heroin users (n = 60) in Cabramatta, a suburb of South West Sydney. Criteria were Vietnamese, Cambodian or Lao cultural background and two or less years of heroin use (injecting or smoking). Participants were recruited using snowball sampling techniques based on street and social networks and previous research contacts. Measures: A semi-structured interview was administered, based on the literature and previous research. Measures included patterns of heroin use, risk behaviours, perceived susceptibility to hepatitis C infection and needle and syringe program (NSP) utilization. Capillary blood was collected by finger prick using disposable lancets and blotting paper to determine prevalence of HCV antibody. Results: The prevalence of HCV is 25% among this sample of Indo-Chinese new injecting drug users (NIDU). Despite perceived high availability of sterile injecting equipment through NSPs, sharing of injection equipment was common with 41% ever having shared a needle and syringe and 24% having done so in the past month. Conclusions: To prevent further transmission of blood-borne pathogens among Indo-Chinese NIDU there is a need both for increased access to services and effective information campaigns early in the use career. Innovative and culturally appropriate programs should be designed to encourage non-injecting routes of administration and to seek to prevent or delay the onset of injecting.