AIDS and intravenous drug use: a growing menace

The AIDS virus is transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids between an infected person and an uninfected person, and the sharing of needles by IV drug users has been one of the primary means of transmission. The incidence of infection by this method has increased in the world, and in the inner cities of the United States has been a particular problem. Infected drug users also transmit the disease to their sexual partners and to their unborn children. Educational efforts have been directed at changing the behavior of drug users to reduce their sharing of needles, and some cities have tried handing out free needles. Such efforts, of course, run counter to the admonition not to use drugs at all, but health professionals believe changing behavior is the most important way of attacking the disease. While transmission of the HIV virus through IV drug abuse remains a significant problem, there is evidence that the educational efforts have been working and that, in some areas at least, behaviors have been changed and the risk has been reduced.