Injection of cocaine is associated with a recent HIV outbreak in people who inject drugs in Luxembourg.

Abstract

BackgroundAn outbreak of HIV infections among people who inject drugs (PWID) started in 2014 in Luxembourg.ObjectivesWe conducted phylogenetic and epidemiological analyses among the PWID infected with HIV in Luxembourg or attending the supervised drug consumption facility (SDCF) to understand the main causes of the outbreak.MethodsBetween January 2013 and December 2017, analysis of medical files were performed from all PWID infected with HIV at the National Service of Infectious Diseases (NSID) providing clinical care nationwide. PWID were interviewed at NSID and SDCF using a standardized questionnaire focused on drug consumption and risk behaviours. The national drug monitoring system RELIS was consulted to determine the frequency of cocaine/heroin use. Transmission clusters were analysed by phylogenetic analyses using approximate maximum-likelihood. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed on epidemiological data collected at NSID and SDCF to determine risk factors associated with cocaine use.ResultsFrom January 2013 to December 2017, 68 new diagnosis of HIV infection reported injecting drug use as the main risk of transmission at NSID. The proportion of female cases enrolled between 2013-2017 was higher than the proportion among cases enrolled prior to 2013. (33% vs 21%, p ConclusionsInjecting cocaine is a new trend of drug use in Luxembourg associated with HIV infection in this recent outbreak among PWID.