Outbreak of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Among Heterosexual Persons Who Are Living Homeless and Inject Drugs - Seattle, Washington, 2018.

Outbreak of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Among Heterosexual Persons Who Are Living Homeless and Inject Drugs - Seattle, Washington, 2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019 Apr 19;68(15):344-349 Authors: Golden MR, Lechtenberg R, Glick SN, Dombrowski J, Duchin J, Reuer JR, Dhanireddy S, Neme S, Buskin SE Abstract Although diagnoses of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among persons who inject drugs in the United States are declining, an HIV outbreak among such persons in rural Indiana demonstrated that population's vulnerability to HIV infection (1). In August 2018, Public Health-Seattle and King County (PHSKC) identified a cluster of cases of HIV infection among persons living homeless, most of whom injected drugs. Investigation identified 14 related cases diagnosed from February to mid-November 2018 among women who inject drugs and men who have sex with women (MSW) who inject drugs and their sex partners. All 14 persons were living homeless in an approximately 3-square-mile area and were part of a cluster of 23 cases diagnosed since 2008. Twenty-seven cases of HIV infection were diagnosed among women and MSW who inject drugs in King County during January 1-November 15, 2018, a 286% increase over the seven cases diagnosed in 2017. PHSKC has alerted medical and social service providers and the public about the outbreak, expanded HIV testing among persons who inject drugs or who are living homeless, and is working to...
Source: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkl... - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Tags: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep Source Type: research