BackgroundAs a dual response to the HIV epidemic and the high level of injecting drug use in Vietnam, the Ministry of Health (MOH) initiated a pilot methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) program in Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in early 2009. The objectives of the pilot were to provide evidence on whether MMT could be successfully implemented in Vietnam and scaled up to other localities.MethodsA prospective study was conducted among 965 opiate drug users admitted to the pilot. Data on demographic characteristics, sexual behaviors, substance use behaviors (including heroin use), and blood-borne virus infection (HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C) were collected at treatment initiation and then again at 3-, 6-, 9-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month intervals thereafter.ResultsTwenty-four months after treatment initiation, heroin use as measured by urine test or self-report had reduced from 100 % of participants at both sites to 14.6 % in Hai Phong and 22.9 % in HCMC. When adjusted for multiple factors in Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) logistic regression modeling, independent predictors of continued heroin use after 24 months of MMT in HCMC were the following: poor methadone adherence (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 3.7, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.8–7.8); currently on antiretroviral treatment (ART) (AOR = 1.8, 95 % CI 1.4–2.4); currently on TB treatment (AOR = 2.2, 95 % CI 1.4–3.4); currently experiencing family conflict (AOR = 1.6, 95 % CI 1.1–2.4); and currently employed (AOR = 0.8, 95 % CI 0.6–1.0).For Hai Phong participants, predictors were the following: currently on ART (AOR = 2.0, 95 % CI = 1.4–3.0); currently experiencing family conflict (AOR = 2.0, 95 % CI = 1.0–3.9); and moderate adherence to methadone (AOR = 2.1, 95 % CI = 1.2–1.9). In Hai Phong, the percentage of participants who were employed had also increased by end of study from 35.0 to 52.8 %, while in HCMC the level remained relatively unchanged, between 52.2 and 55.1 %.DiscussionStudy findings were used in multiple fora to convince policymakers and the public on the significant and vital role MMT can play in reducing heroin use and improving quality of life for individuals and families. Four years after this study was completed, Vietnam had expanded MMT to 162 clinics in 44 provinces serving 32,000 patients.

HIV-1 genetic subtypes might have a different impact on disease progression and response to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Few data are available on the immune activation profile in patients with different HIV-1 subtypes. We have tested by ELISA the plasma levels of an immune activation marker, soluble CD27 (sCD27), in a cohort of 64 patients infected with HIV-1 subtypes A-D, at baseline and after 1 year of virologically successful ART. Plasma sCD27 was significantly higher in the whole HIV-1-infected population as compared to healthy subjects [522 U/ml (188-1,307) vs. 285 U/ml (174-397), P < 0.001]. Among the four different HIV-1 subtypes, patients with subtype C virus had significantly higher plasma sCD27 [684 U/ml, (188-1228)] as compared to patients with subtype A [428 U/ml (247-1307), P < 0.05] and B [454 (211-925), P < 0.05]. After 1 year of ART, plasma sCD27 significantly decreased in all groups but patients with subtype C viruses had the largest reduction of sCD27 from baseline. The data indicate that a similar immune activation profile is present in patients infected with HIV-1 subtypes A, B, and D and that in presence of successful ART these subtypes respond similarly in terms of immune activation. Intriguingly, subtype C infection seems to be associated with higher levels of plasma sCD27, suggesting that HIV-1 genetic subtype C may have a different impact on disease outcome and response to therapy.

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To investigate the molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 among intravenous drug users (IDUs) in Hanoi we collected 17 samples from individuals living in 12 locations in and around Hanoi. The HIV-1 env V3 and gag p17 regions were directly sequenced from the proviral PBMC population. The majority of the IDUs were infected with HIV-1 CRF01_AE and one individual carried a p17/V3 CRF01/subtype C recombinant. The CRF01 viruses found among these individuals did not seem to be directly epidemiologically linked to each other. The sequences were, however, related to previously reported CRF01 sequences from Vietnam and China. Thus, IDUs in Hanoi seem to have derived their infections in Vietnam, but not from the same source. The discovery of the CRF01/C recombinant shows that new viral forms easily can be generated in IDU transmission chains.

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