2014
Hepatitis C virus seroprevalence among people who inject drugs and factors associated with infection in eight Russian cities
Heimer R, Eritsyan K, Barbour R, Levina OS. Hepatitis C virus seroprevalence among people who inject drugs and factors associated with infection in eight Russian cities. BMC Infectious Diseases 2014, 14: s12. PMID: 25253447, PMCID: PMC4178532, DOI: 10.1186/1471-2334-14-s6-s12.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsHepatitis C virusRespondent-driven samplingHIV-1Hepatitis C virus (HCV) seroprevalencePositive HCV serostatusInjection drug useLarger social network sizeHarm reduction programsHCV-positive serostatusBetter prevention programsHCV prevalenceHCV serostatusHCV epidemicMean ageC virusInjection paraphernaliaVirus seroprevalenceSerological testingRisk populationsBlood specimensCity-level factorsPWIDDrug usePrevention programsLonger duration
2010
Estimates of HIV incidence among drug users in St. Petersburg, Russia: continued growth of a rapidly expanding epidemic
Niccolai LM, Verevochkin SV, Toussova OV, White E, Barbour R, Kozlov AP, Heimer R. Estimates of HIV incidence among drug users in St. Petersburg, Russia: continued growth of a rapidly expanding epidemic. European Journal Of Public Health 2010, 21: 613-619. PMID: 20798184, PMCID: PMC3180633, DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckq115.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsInjection drug usersRetrospective cohort analysisHIV incidenceEnzyme immunoassayHIV epidemicCohort analysisDrug usersBED capture enzyme immunoassayHIV incident casesRecent HIV incidenceHigh HIV incidenceHIV prevention interventionsCross-sectional studyCapture enzyme immunoassayIncident infectionsIncident casesEstimate incidenceIndependent correlatesIncidence rateIncidence estimatesPrevention interventionsCurrent epidemic situationIncidenceVulnerable populationsLow specificity
2009
Hepatitis C virus infection among drug injectors in St Petersburg, Russia: social and molecular epidemiology of an endemic infection
Paintsil E, Verevochkin SV, Dukhovlinova E, Niccolai L, Barbour R, White E, Toussova OV, Alexander L, Kozlov AP, Heimer R. Hepatitis C virus infection among drug injectors in St Petersburg, Russia: social and molecular epidemiology of an endemic infection. Addiction 2009, 104: 1881-1890. PMID: 19712125, PMCID: PMC2763027, DOI: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02687.x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsInjection drug usersHepatitis C virusRespondent-driven samplingPrevalent infectionMajority of IDUsHepatitis C virus infectionSustained virological responseC virus infectionRespondent-driven sampleAssociation of genotypesIDU communityVirological responseHCV infectionAntiviral therapyC virusGenotype 3aDrug injectionVirus infectionDrug injectorsBlood samplesHCV sequencesDrug usersEndemic infectionInfectionMolecular epidemiology
2008
High HIV Prevalence, Suboptimal HIV Testing, and Low Knowledge of HIV-Positive Serostatus Among Injection Drug Users in St. Petersburg, Russia
Niccolai LM, Toussova OV, Verevochkin SV, Barbour R, Heimer R, Kozlov AP. High HIV Prevalence, Suboptimal HIV Testing, and Low Knowledge of HIV-Positive Serostatus Among Injection Drug Users in St. Petersburg, Russia. AIDS And Behavior 2008, 14: 932-941. PMID: 18843531, PMCID: PMC3116648, DOI: 10.1007/s10461-008-9469-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsInjection drug usersHIV-positive serostatusHIV prevalenceHIV testingDrug usersHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalenceRecent doctor visitHigh HIV prevalenceUnsafe injectionsPositive serostatusDoctor visitsSerostatusHIVPrevalencePoor knowledgeVirus prevalenceLow knowledgeTesting patternsHistory/Adequate coverageCorrelatesInfectionVisitsMonthsSpatial distribution of HIV prevalence and incidence among injection drugs users in St Petersburg: implications for HIV transmission
Heimer R, Barbour R, Shaboltas AV, Hoffman IF, Kozlov AP. Spatial distribution of HIV prevalence and incidence among injection drugs users in St Petersburg: implications for HIV transmission. AIDS 2008, 22: 123-130. PMID: 18090400, PMCID: PMC2778790, DOI: 10.1097/qad.0b013e3282f244ef.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsInjection drug usersDrug usersReceptive syringe sharingRisk behavior dataHIV/AIDS epidemicRisky injection behaviorsSeronegative cohortsSeronegative individualsHeroin injectionHIV prevalenceHIV transmissionIncident casesSyringe sharingHIV epidemicVaccine studiesStudy populationDrug useResidential addressesStudy participantsEpidemiological analysisHIVPrevalenceAIDS epidemicDisease prevalenceCohort