(%)

(%). == 4.1. unfavorable one. However, multivariate regression revealed no significant association between anti-HCV serostatus and either MMT retention time or illicit drug use. == Conclusions: == The major risk factor of HCV contamination was injection drug use. The patients awareness of his or her HCV status had a minor effect in reduction of illicit drug use and improvement in MMT retention. Therefore, adequate counseling is necessary for drug users in MMT clinics in Xian. Keywords:Methadone, Maintenance, Treatment, Injection, Drug User == 1. Background == The most significant risk factor of hepatitis C computer virus (HCV) transmission is usually injection drug use. Approximately 50% to 90% of injection drug users (IDUs) are seropositive for HCV (1-3). As shown in an evaluation of the first eight pilot methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clinics (4), MMT had the potential to reduce the incidence of blood-borne infections by helping drug users to achieve opioid abstinence or decrease risky drug abuse actions. Interestingly, one study showed that six months of enrollment in a low-threshold MMT program reduced the proportion of injection drug use, needle sharing and drug equipment sharing among opioid users even without enforcement of abstinence-based guidelines (5). Individuals who continue participation or experience disrupted participation in an MMT program are less likely to inject drugs with used needles and are more likely to inject less frequently than those who left an MMT program (6). Retention of individuals in an MMT program is usually closely related to abstinence and decreased use of other substances (7,8). A study by Kwiatkowski et al. (9) showed that drug users who are unaware of their HCV serostatus tend to engage in more risky actions than those who are aware of their positive serological status. A young IDUs awareness of his or her HCV ZNF143 serostatus may have a modest effect on whether he or she engages in drug injection (10). HCV testing should be motivated to decrease the risk among drug injectors susceptible to acquiring or transmitting HCV (11). Drug addicts’ population has been increased since 1980s. Approximately 1.14 million drug addicts were registered in Velpatasvir China in 2004 (12), and more than 75% of these were heroin users. A meta-analysis of 105 studies assessed the HCV contamination rate among IDUs from 1997 to 2006 in China exhibited that 61.4% of Chinese IDUs had positive results for HCV infection. The most severely affected areas were Velpatasvir Hubei, Yunnan, Guangxi and Hunan provinces and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (13). HCV contamination rate among IDUs in Yunnan is usually reportedly as high as 90%, and may be even higher (14,15). Xian is an inland city in China and serves as a traffic hub connecting Yunnan, Sichuan, Xinjiang and other areas with high rates of drug abuse. The estimated rate of drug users sharing syringes during the most recent six months in Xian was about 25% lower than that observed in Chongqing, Yunnan and other regions in Velpatasvir southwest China (16). Although HCV positivity rate is approximately 60% among drug users in Xian (16), the risk factors of HCV contamination have not been elucidated. == 2. Objectives == The two primary objectives of the present study were (1) to document the Velpatasvir prevalence of HCV and the risk behaviors in drug users among 11 MMT clinics in Xian city and (2) to compare the rates of.