HIV prevalence and gender differences among new injection-drug-users in Tallinn, Estonia: A persisting problem in a stable high prevalence epidemic.

Introduction: New injectors / younger drug users are an important population to target for intervention because they are often at especially high risk of HIV and HCV infection. We examined HIV prevalence and gender differences in HIV prevalence and risk behavior among new injection-drug-users in Tallinn, Estonia.

Methods: Respondent driven sampling (RDS) interview surveys and HIV testing were conducted in Tallinn in 2009, 2011 and 2013.

Association between TLR3 rs3775291 and resistance to HIV among highly exposed Caucasian intravenous drug users.

Background: TLR3 recognizes dsRNA and triggers immune responses against RNA and DNA viruses. A polymorphism in TLR3, rs3775291 (Leu412Phe), has been associated with the increased susceptibility to enteroviral myocarditis, protection against tick-borne encephalitis virus and HIV-1 infection. We investigated Caucasian intravenous drug users (IDUs) and blood donors in order to evaluate the associations between TLR3 genotypes and susceptibility to HIV infection.