Exposure of intravenous drug users to AIDS retrovirus, Sydney, 1985

A survey of a cohort of 200 intravenous (IV) drug users drawn from five drug referral agencies was conducted in Sydney in 1985 and revealed only one heterosexual male with antibodies to AIDS retrovirus (ARV). Contact tracing of sexual and needle-sharing partners resulted in the referral of a further four out of six at-risk individuals seropositive for ARV. This study indicates that ARV has now reached the IV drug-using population and could be spread further among IV drug users by sexual contact and by needle-sharing. We conclude that exposure to ARV among IV drug users is in its earliest stages in Australia. There is an urgent need to introduce measures such as contact tracing and screening of IV drug users to prevent further spread of ARV in this risk group.