The profile of injection drug users in Chennai, India: Identification of risk behaviours and implications for interventions

We characterize the demographics, injection practices and risk behaviours of 1,158 injection drug users (IDUs) in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu in southern India, who were recruited during 2005-2006 by community outreach. The median age was 35 years; the majority of IDUs were male, of Tamil ethnicity and married, and earning less than US$75 per month. Most (76) had injected in the prior month. The median age at first injection was 25 years; the most common drug injected was heroin (80%) followed by buprenorphine. High risk behaviours were common and included needle-sharing, unsafe disposal, and inappropriate cleaning of needles as well as limited condom use. IDUs in India need to be educated on harm reduction and safe-injection practices; Pharmacies could serve as potential venues for HIV prevention interventions among IDUs in India, as most IDUs obtain their needles from pharmacies without prescription.