Drug Misuse Statistics Scotland 2007 - Drug Misuse Information ...

Blood-borne Viruses
Human Immunodeficiency Virus and AIDS
Overview
■ In 2006 there were 25 new cases of HIV infection among IDUs. Thirteen of these new infections were
thought to have been contracted in Scotland (see background information for further details) (Table
C4.4).
■ 12 of the new cases were aged 30 to 39 years old at the time of diagnosis and the median age was 35
years (Table C4.6).
■ 18 of the new cases were males (Table C4.6).
■ The cumulative total (to 31 December 2006) of HIV infected reports in IDUs is 1,367. IDUs accounted
for 28% of the cumulative total of 4,969 HIV infection reports for Scotland (Table C4.4).
■ Four new AIDS cases were registered among IDUs in 2006, bringing the cumulative total number of cases
registered to 439 (Table C4.4).
Five Year Trends – 2002 to 2006
■ Between 2002 and 2006 numbers of HIV infections in IDUs rose: 13 in 2002 rising to 25 in 2006 (Table
C4.4).
■ The number of AIDS cases registered has declined from 13 cases in 2002 to 4 cases in 2006 (Table C4.4).
■ There has been a decline over the last five years in the number of HIV infected IDUs in clinical care, from
412 in 2002 to 388 in 2006 (Table C4.7).
Health Impact
Geographical Profile
■ Of the 25 new HIV reports in 2006, just under a third were in NHS Lothian (7 reports) and a fifth were
in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (5 reports). NHS Tayside reported 4 new infections (Table C4.5).
■ Of the cumulative total of infections 51% of cases were in NHS Lothian (696 of 1,367 reports). A further
22% were in NHS Tayside (304 cases) and 15% (199 cases) in NHS Greater Glasgow (Table C4.5).
Background information
Hepatitis B Virus
Health Protection Scotland (HPS) receives notification of positive hepatitis B Virus (HBV) tests from all
laboratories located in the 14 NHS Board areas. At present no standard exists for the reporting of HBV infection
and the amount of information provided by the different laboratories varies significantly. Information on risk
factors, clinical history and status of HBV markers is frequently missing, thus it is difficult to determine whether
cases are acute or chronic and to estimate the true incidence and prevalence of the virus. HPS are currently
working towards developing an enhanced surveillance system for HBV in order to improve the quality of data
that they receive.
Hepatitis C Virus
HPS, in association with Scotland’s principal HCV testing laboratories (the West of Scotland Specialist Virus
Centre at Gartnavel General Hospital, Glasgow, the East of Scotland Specialist Virus Centre at the Edinburgh
Royal Infirmary, the Department of Microbiology at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, and the Department of
Microbiology at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary) collates information on all cases of HCV diagnosed in Scotland.
There is no dedicated HCV request form and information is limited to what is available on standard virological
test request forms that accompany blood specimens.
Revised data – A comprehensive review of all records of diagnoses, received by HPS from HCV testing
laboratories, was undertaken in 2005. This established that 6% of records of persons diagnosed HCV positive
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Drug Misuse Statistics Scotland 2007