Risk Factors for a Positive Hepatitis C Status in Fishermen in Kuantan Malaysia

Malaysia currently has an estimated hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence of 1.3% with an infected population of 384,000. Fishermen in Malaysia are at risk of HCV infection due to injection drug use and disproportionately high rates of incarceration. This study used quantitative data from Project WAVES...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Asia-Pacific journal of public health 2019-04, Vol.31 (3), p.227-237
Main Authors: Lall, Priya, Saifi, Rumana, Baggio, Diva, Schoenberger, Samantha Fitzsimmons, Choo, Martin, Gilbert, Louisa, West, Brooke, El-Bassel, Nabila, Kamarulzaman, Adeeba
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Fisheries
Hepatitis C - epidemiology
Humans
Malaysia - epidemiology
Male
Middle Aged
Prevalence
Prisoners - statistics & numerical data
Risk Factors
Substance Abuse, Intravenous - epidemiology
Young Adult
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Summary:Malaysia currently has an estimated hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence of 1.3% with an infected population of 384,000. Fishermen in Malaysia are at risk of HCV infection due to injection drug use and disproportionately high rates of incarceration. This study used quantitative data from Project WAVES, a large-scale mixed methods project charting environmental drivers of risk-taking behaviors among a respondent-driven sample of 406 fishermen in Malaysia. Over a quarter of participants (27.9%) reported injecting drugs in the past month; 49.8% of the sample tested positive for HCV. Respondents who had previously been arrested displayed increased odds of being HCV-positive (adjusted odds ratio = 4.79, confidence Interval = 2.46-9.35). Participants who reported being in lock-up displayed close to 6-fold odds of being HCV-infected (adjusted odds ratio = 5.49, confidence interval = 2.77-10.90, P < .001). These findings underscore the need for policies and structural interventions targeting the negative effects of aggressive incarceration contributing to the burden of HCV among high-risk communities.
ISSN:1010-5395
1941-2479
DOI:10.1177/1010539519841294