Prevalence and Predictors of HIV and Viral Hepatitis among People Who Inject Drugs in Kinondoni District, Tanzania

[1]¿p#1 newcommands Introduction Blood-borne viral (BBV) infections pose a major global health threat. Injecting drug users (IDUs) are at high risk of BBV infections such as Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and viral hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV). This study aimed to determine prevalence and predictors of BBV infections among IDUs. Methods A retrospective study was done among IDUs. Demographics, drug use risk behavior data were collected and blood samples tested for BBV infections. Regression models were performed in R v4.3.2 to identify predictors of BBV infections. Results The majority (> 90%) of IDUs were male and HCV (70.8%) and HIV–HCV co-infection (27.2%) were most prevalent. HIV positivity (OR = 3.06, p = 0.036) and THC use (OR = 3.38, p = 0.036) predicted HBV infection, whereas HIV infection (OR = 8.54, p = 0.00001) and older age (OR = 1.10, p = 0.0027) predicted HCV infection while syringe sharing (OR = 3.52, p = 0.0060) and HCV positivity (OR = 8.23, p = 0.00003) predicted HIV. Conclusions HCV and HIV–HCV co-infections are highly prevalent among IDU population. Syringe sharing and low education increase vulnerability for BBV infections, highlighting the need for targeted harm-reduction measures.