Research Unsafe injections and the transmission of hepatitis B and C in a periurban community in Pakistan Aamir J. Khan,1 Stephen P. Luby,2 Fariyal Fikree,2 Anita Karim,3 Saima Obaid,3 Salima Dellawala,3 Shaper Mirza,4 Tariq Malik,4 Sue Fisher-Hoch,5 & Joseph B. McCormick6 Following reports of frequent deaths associated with jaundice and chronic liver disease among adults in a periurban community of Karachi, Pakistan, an investigation was conducted to evaluate the relationship between injections and viral hepatitis infections, to identify the reasons why patients received frequent injections, and to observe the injection practices employed in clinics. Two hundred and three adult patients were interviewed as they left each of the 18 area clinics. Practitioners were interviewed and three consecutive injections were observed at each clinic. Eighty-one per cent of patients received an injection on the day of the interview. Of the 135 patients who provided a serum sample, 59 (44%) had antibodies against hepatitis C virus and 26 (19%) had antibodies against hepatitis B virus. Patients who received more injections were more likely to be infected with hepatitis C. If oral and injected medications were equally effective, 44% of patients preferred injected medication. None of the practitioners knew that hepatitis C could be transmitted by injections. Non-sterile syringes and needles that had been used earlier in the day on other patients were used for 94% of the observed injections. Interventions to limit injections to those which are safe and clinically indicated are needed to prevent injection-associated infections in Pakistan and other low-income countries. Keywords: hepatitis B, transmission; hepatitis C, transmission; injections, adverse effects; epidemiological studies; Pakistan. Voir page 962 le re´sume´ en franc¸ais. En la pa´ gina 962 figura un resumen en espan˜ ol. Introduction borne organisms including hepatitis B virus (HBV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Ebola virus, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a bloodborne pathogen Lassa fever virus, and HCV (9–15). responsible for a substantial proportion of cases of In1993acommunity-basedsurveyinHafizabad, post-transfusion hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepato- Pakistan, found the prevalence of antibody against cellular carcinoma (1, 2). The most commonly HCV to be 6.5%, and a follow-up case-control study identified routes of HCV transmission in developed showed that patients infected with HCV were seven countries include intravenous drug use, blood times more likely than controls to report averaging transfusions, haemodialysis, needle-stick injuries ten or more therapeutic injections per year in the among health professionals, tattooing, sexual inter- previous ten years (13). The study design did not course and perinatal infections (3–8). In developing permit assessment of the practices of health care countries, the reuse of needles and syringes without providers or their perceptions regarding the potential sterilization for therapeutic injections has been risks of needle reuse. implicated as a vehicle for transmission of blood- In 1995 we received reports of increasingly frequent deaths of adults which were associated with 1 Research Officer, Community Health Sciences Department, jaundice and chronic liver disease in Darsano Channo, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. a periurban agricultural community of Karachi over 2 Assistant Professor, Community Health Sciences Department, 1100 kilometres from Hafizabad. These reports led us Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. Correspondence should be addressed to Dr Luby at the following address: Mailstop A-38, to conduct an investigation into the relationship Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, between hepatitis infections and injections, the USA (email: [email protected]). reasons why patients received frequent injections, 3 Medical Student, Community Health Sciences Department, and the injection practices employed in clinics. Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. 4 Instructor, Pathology Department, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. Methods 5 Professor, Pathology Department, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. Setting 6 Professor, Community Health Sciences Department, Aga Khan Darsano Channo is a periurban subdistrict 20 kilo- University, Karachi, Pakistan. metres north-east of Karachi, comprising nearly Ref. No. 99-0128 956 # World Health Organization 2000 Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2000, 78 (8) Unsafe injections and hepatitis transmission in Pakistan 30 village centres with, according to the most reliable HBc, Abbott EIA). We interpreted the presence of estimate available, approximately 13 000 people of anti-HBc as evidence of past HBV infection. Sindhi and Balochi descent. The primary source of income for most families is agricultural labour on land Statistics owned by a small number of landowners; a small Interview forms were coded and double-entered into proportion of educated men are employed by the Epi Info software (16). We compared the prevalences government in local service or in Karachi. The adult of infection between groups on the basis of population is largely unable to read or write. prevalence ratios and used the w2-test and Yate’s corrected P-values to evaluate statistical significance, Design with Taylor Series 95% confidence limits. The w2-test On five days in January 1995 a group of final-year for linear trend was employed to evaluate the medical students from the Aga Khan University relationship between current infection and number approached consecutive patients as they left 18 health of injections over time. clinics in Darsano Channo. If the patients consented and were at least 20 years of age the students administered a structured questionnaire on present- Results ing health complaints, injections given on the day and previously, and attitudes towards injections. A blood Patients specimen was collected from each patient who gave We interviewed 203 patients aged at least 20 years as informed consent. Patients aged 20 or more were they left the clinics. Their mean age was 36 years enrolled to provide sufficient data for statistical (range 20–80); there were 127 females (63%) and analysis, a previous study in Pakistan having demon- 76 males (37%). The mean ages for females and strated that HCV infection increased markedly with males were 35 and 37 years respectively. Seventy-six age (13). per cent of the females were housewives and 55% of The study team asked the health care the males were involved in agricultural labour; 75% of providers at the clinics about their qualifications, the females and 54% of the males were unable to read work experience, patient turnover and injecting or write. practices. A questionnaire asked the practitioners to One hundred and thirty-five patients (67%) state the common medical indications for which agreed to provide a serum sample. The sex they prescribed injections, the types of injectable distribution (63% male versus 62% female) and drugs prescribed, why they preferred injectable mean age (38 versus 35 years) of those who refused to drugs over oral forms and the diseases likely to be give a blood sample and those who agreed were transmitted through the reuse of non-sterile needles. similar. Of the females and males who did not A structured form was used to record observations provide a serum sample, 90% and 69% respectively made on three consecutive patients who received could not read or write. injections in each clinic. This number was chosen Of the 135 serum samples procured and tested, because of the limited time and numbers of 59 (44%) had antibodies against HCV and 26 (19%) observers, the desire to make observations in all had antibodies against HBV core antigen. Forty-three the clinics, and the expectation that three observa- of 85 females (51%) and 16 of 50 males (32%) were tions per practitioner would give an adequate picture infected with HCV (prevalence ratio = 1.6, P = 0.05). of routine practice. Compared to patients aged 20–24 years, all older age Three periods of patient exposure to thera- groups were 4 to 6 times more likely to be infected peutic injections were considered: the 12 months with HCV. The prevalence of anti-HBc antibodies did preceding the study, i.e. 1994; 1989 to 1993; and, for not differ significantly by sexor age group (Table 1). persons aged 30 or more, 1978 to 1988. Respondents The primary symptoms prompting these were asked to report their average number of yearly patients to visit the clinic included generalized injections in the following categories: zero, 1–4, 5–10 muscular and joint aches (22%), abdominal discom- and more than ten. fort (20%), acute febrile illness (18%) and respiratory tract infections (13%). An injection was received Laboratory procedures during the visit to the clinic by 165 patients (81%), including 90% of those aged 20–24 years. Seventy- Serum was separated and stored at –70 oC at the three per cent of patients did not know whether the laboratory of the Aga Khan University Hospital. needle and syringe used to inject them were sterile; HCV infection was defined as the presence of serum 17% reported them to be reused and 10% observed a HCV antibodies detected by a third-generation new syringe being drawn from its packet. enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Abbott EIA). Among all 203 exit patients, the percentage Because the prevalence of HCV infection in the study who reported averaging more than ten injections per population was much higher than expected we