2018
Drug injection within prison in Kyrgyzstan: elevated HIV risk and implications for scaling up opioid agonist treatments
Azbel L, Wegman MP, Polonsky M, Bachireddy C, Meyer J, Shumskaya N, Kurmanalieva A, Dvoryak S, Altice FL. Drug injection within prison in Kyrgyzstan: elevated HIV risk and implications for scaling up opioid agonist treatments. International Journal Of Prison Health 2018, 14: 175-187. PMID: 30274558, PMCID: PMC6447033, DOI: 10.1108/ijph-03-2017-0016.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMethadone maintenance treatmentNeedle syringe programsDrug injectionDrug injectorsHigh HIV risk behaviorElevated HIV riskPrison drug injectionHepatitis C infectionOpioid agonist treatmentHIV risk behaviorsC infectionHIV incidenceAgonist treatmentMaintenance treatmentIndependent correlatesBiobehavioral surveysHIV riskOnly examinationRisk behaviorsMMT useLow uptakeCurrent incarcerationInjectionLogit linkHigh-risk environments
2016
The perfect storm: incarceration and the high-risk environment perpetuating transmission of HIV, hepatitis C virus, and tuberculosis in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Altice FL, Azbel L, Stone J, Brooks-Pollock E, Smyrnov P, Dvoriak S, Taxman FS, El-Bassel N, Martin NK, Booth R, Stöver H, Dolan K, Vickerman P. The perfect storm: incarceration and the high-risk environment perpetuating transmission of HIV, hepatitis C virus, and tuberculosis in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The Lancet 2016, 388: 1228-1248. PMID: 27427455, PMCID: PMC5087988, DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(16)30856-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsOpioid agonist therapyHepatitis C virusIncident tuberculosis casesAgonist therapyC virusTuberculosis casesHIV transmissionEECA countriesAntiretroviral therapy coverageHIV transmission riskNew HIV infectionsInjection of opioidsTransmission of HIVSecondary preventionHIV infectionHIV incidenceSyringe programsHIVDrug useLarge burdenTransmission riskTherapyTuberculosisDrugsHigh levels
2013
A review of medical and substance use co-morbidities in Central Asian prisons: Implications for HIV prevention and treatment
Vagenas P, Azbel L, Polonsky M, Kerimi N, Mamyrov M, Dvoryak S, Altice FL. A review of medical and substance use co-morbidities in Central Asian prisons: Implications for HIV prevention and treatment. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2013, 132: s25-s31. PMID: 23932844, PMCID: PMC3825758, DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.07.010.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsOpioid substitution therapyDrug-related health problemsHIV preventionHealth problemsHIV sentinel surveillanceHIV prevention interventionsConcentration of HIVHIV incidenceHIV casesSubstitution therapyHIV prevalenceSentinel surveillancePrevention interventionsRisk populationsDisease RegistryTreatment servicesHealth reportingSubstance useHealthcare servicesRecent dataPrevalenceCrucial interventionPreventionInterventionOnline databases