See also: Recreational Drugs, Addiction, and HIV

General Information

CDC Fact Sheets:

• HIV and Substance Use in the United States
• HIV and Injection Drug Use in the United States
• Injection Drug Use Data
• Access to Sterile Syringes

Materials from Other Sources:

• Reducing the risk of getting HIV from injection drug use (San Francisco AIDS Foundation)
• HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse: Intertwined Epidemics (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
• Drug use and HIV (AIDS InfoNet) and Spanish version
• Harm reduction and HIV (AIDS InfoNet) and Spanish version
• Injection drug use & HIV/AIDS (TheBodyPro) – web page with links to fact sheets, articles, and other resources
• Needles and Other Sharps (Safe Disposal Outside of Health Care Settings) (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)

Selected Recent Articles

• United States: Syringe service use up, but a third of people who inject drugs still share needles.  (December 2016, AIDSmap)
• Sofosbuvir-based therapy achieves excellent SVR12 rates among people who inject drugs in Ukraine.  (December 2016, AIDSmap)
• Methadone Users May Need Education About Hepatitis C Treatment.  (September 2016, Hepmag)
• New York City to Study Supervised Injection Sites for Heroin Users.  (September 2016, Hepmag)
• Review: Opioid substitution therapy access with HIV care improves antiretroviral treatment outcomes for people who inject drugs.  (September 2016, Science Speaks Blog)
• Beyond the Prevention and Treatment Binary: Leveraging Harm Reduction as a Critical Component of the Drug User Service Continuum.  (September 2016, NASTAD Blog)
• HCV treatment is effective and may work as prevention for people who inject drugs.  (September 2016, AIDSmap)
• INHSU 2016 opens with focus on hepatitis C prevention and treatment for people who inject drugs.  (September 2016, AIDSmap)
• People Cured of Hep C Still Have Elevated Risk of Death.  (September 2016, Hepmag)
• Maine’s Heroin Crisis Leads to Major Rise in Hepatitis B.  (September 2016, Hepmag)
• “Overdose Outbreak” Hits West Virginia in the Midst of Opioid Crisis.  (August 2016, Hepmag)
• Hepatitis C Epidemic Hits Hard in Rural Alaska.  (August 2016, Hepmag)
• Overdose Prevention is a Viral Hepatitis Prevention Responsibility.  (August 2016, NASTAD Blog)
• Overdose Prevention: An Infectious Disease Program Responsibility.  (August 2016, NASTAD Blog)
• Food Insecurity Tied to HIV, Other STIs and Drug Use in U.S. Men.  (August 2016, TheBodyPro)
•  For Injection Drug Users With HIV, Higher Risk of Liver/Kidney Disease — But Not Other Non-AIDS Ills.  (August 2016, TheBodyPro)
• On the Safe Side: Can supervised injection facilities help reduce U.S. HIV rates?  (August 2016, Poz)
• Study Supports Removal of Drug Use as Restriction for Hepatitis C Treatment.  (August 2016, Hepmag)
• What Passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) Means for HIV and Hepatitis Programs.  (August 2016, NASTAD Blog)
• Hepatitis C Prevention for People Who Inject Drugs.  (July/August 2016, Positively Aware)
• On the safe side [supervised infection facilities].  (August 2016, Poz)
• Opioid Substitution Therapy Helps Drug Users Do Better With HIV Treatment.  (August 2016, Poz)
• What Passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) Means for HIV and Hepatitis Programs.  (August 2016, NASTAD Blog)
• AIDS United Calls for Supervised Injection Facilities as Part of Comprehensive HIV Prevention Strategy for People Who Use Drugs.  (July 2016, AIDS United)
• Alternatives to Public Injecting (2016, Harm Reduction Coalition)
• Safe Injection Facilities in the United States: The Next Step for Harm Reduction for People Who Use Drugs.  (July 2016, Project Inform)
• HIV Epidemics Among Gays and Drug Users Are Less Likely to Get U.S. Aid.  (July 2016, Poz)
• North Carolina Lawmakers Legalize Syringe Exchanges.  (July 2016, Hepmag)
• Disproportionate burden of HIV, hepatitis, TB among prisoners driven by IDUs, insufficient care.  (July 2016, Healio)
• Focusing on the Legal, Social and Policy Barriers to HIV Services for Key Populations.  (July 2016, Global Forum on MSM and HIV)
• Opioid substitution therapy improves many ART-related outcomes among people who inject drugs.  (July 2016, AIDSmap)
• Viral suppression not improved by interventions among patients with HIV, substance use.  (July 2016, Healio)
• HHS Announces New Plans to Combat the U.S. Opioid Epidemic.  (July 2016, Poz)
• Vaccination could have important role in control of UK HCV epidemic among people who inject drugs.  (June 2016, AIDSmap)
• Many U.S. communities vulnerable to HIV outbreak due to unsafe injecting of prescription opioids.  (June 2016, AIDSmap)
• Hepatitis C on the Rise in Northern Ohio.  (June 2016, Hepmag)
• HLM 2016 AIDS: PEPFAR directs $100 million to reach gay men and other men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, people who inject drugs, and prisoners.  (June 2016, Science Speaks Blog)
• People who inject drugs have other priorities ahead of PrEP.  (June 2016, AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz
• PrEP not cost-effective for people who inject drugs.  (June 2016, Healio)
• After a Long Wait, FDA Approves First Anti-Addiction Implant. (June 2016, Poz)
• Treating Hepatitis C Ups Quality of Life of Injection Drug Users, Who Are at Risk for Reinfection.  (May 2016, Hepmag)
• Safe Injection Facilities in the United States: A Project Inform Think Tank.  (May 2016, Project Inform)
• Targeting Injection Drug Users with PrEP Is Not the Best Use of Funds.  (April 2016, Poz)
• Syringes and Needles on the Street in San Francisco: What’s Being Done?  (April 2016, Beta Blog)
• Syringe access programs and overdose prevention to be funded with federal dollars.  (April 2016, Beta Blog)
• People who use drugs still adherent to PrEP.  (April 2016, Beta Blog)
• D.C. Week: Obama Sets Task Force to Ensure Access to Addiction Tx.  (April 2016, MedPage Today)
• Online Injectors [New York City syringe exchange program].  (April 2016, Poz)
• What’s Love Got to Do With It? Exploring How Intimate Relationships With Men Impact Women Who Inject Drugs and Their Vulnerability for Hep C and HIV.  (Spring 2016, CATIE)
• FDA announces enhanced warnings for immediate-release opioid pain medications related to risks of misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose and death.  (March 2016, Food and Drug Administration)
• FDA to Place “Black Box” Warnings on All Prescription Opioids.  (March 2016, Hepmag)
• Obama Sets Task Force to Ensure Access to Addiction Tx.  (March 2016, MedPage Today)
• HHS to Spend Additional $94M in 2016 to Fight Opioid Addiction.  (March 2016, Poz)
• U.S. Senate passes comprehensive bill to fight drug addiction. (March 2016, Poz)
• A Massive Scale-Up of Hep C Treatment Among Injection Drug Users is Needed to Reap a Prevention Benefit.  (March 2016, Hepmag)
• Frequent Cocaine Injection Among people with HIV and Hepatitis C Raises the Risk of Chronic Kidney Impairment. (March 2016, Poz)
• Urban Injection Drug Users Succeed on Hep C Treatment With Hands-On Care Protocol.  (March 2016, Poz)
• Networks of HCV transmissions among persons who inject drugs: Indiana, 2015.  (February 2016, Retrovirus Conference); related coverage from MedPage Today.
• The evolving epidemiology of HIV infection in persons who inject drugs: Indiana 2015 (February 2016, Retrovirus Conference); related coverage from AIDSmap, Healio, and MedPage Today.
• Very high levels of chemsex and ‘slamsex’ seen in HIV-positive men attending English/Welsh HIV clinics.  (February 2016, AIDSmap)
• Half of Black gay men and a quarter of Latino gay men projected to be diagnosed within their lifetime. (February 2016, CDC); related coverage from AIDSmap, Beta Blog, Healio, MedPage Today, Poz, TheBody article 1 and article 2.   Abstract from 2016 Retrovirus Conference.
• Life expectancy increases in HIV patients; significant gap remains.  (February 2016, Healio); related coverage from AIDSmap, MedPage Today, and Poz; abstract from 2016 Retrovirus Conference.
• Congress Ease Restrictions on Funding for Syringe Exchange. (January 2016, amfAR); related coverage from Hepmag and Healio.
• Expanding rural, suburban syringe programs could greatly reduce HIV, HCV.  (January 2016, Infectious Disease News)
• Prevention strategy focuses on HIV epidemic in Indiana.  (January 2016, Healio)
• A clean needle, an HIV test, and acknowledgment…We’re reading about simple solutions, out of reach.  (January 2016, Science Speaks Blog)
• Syringe Exchanges Often Lacking Where Needed Most.  (January 2016, Poz)
• Monroe County in Indiana Declares Hepatitis C Emergency.  (December 2015, Hepmag)
• U.S. syringe funding ban impedes HIV and hepatitis C prevention.  (December 2015, AIDSmap)
• The New York Times Examines the U.S. Heroin Epidemic.  (December 2015, Hepmag)
• Elbasvir/Grazoprevir Hep C Regimen Succeeds in Opiate Addicts.  (November 2015, Hepmag)
• Poor Results for New Syringe Designed to Curb Hep C Spread.  (November 2015, Hepmag)
• User-Driven Syringe Exchange is Best Model to Reduce HIV and Hepatitis C.  (October 2015, Beta Blog)
• Strategies for hepatitis C ‘treatment as prevention’ must address the concerns of people who inject drugs.  (October 2015, AIDSmap)
• Injection Drug Users Are Likely to Develop Serious Liver Damage by Middle Age.  (October 2015, Hepmag)
• London clinic survey shows impact of chemsex on condom and PEP use.  (October 2015, AIDSmap)
• Harm reduction conference calls for political leadership to reform drugs policy.  (October 2015, AIDSmap)
• Opioid Substitution Therapy Reduces Hepatitis C Risk.  (October 2015, Hepmag)
• Needle and syringe exchanges need to adapt to meet the needs of people who inject steroids and image-enhancing drugs.  (October 2015, AIDSmap)
• Risks and challenges of people who inject drugs, earn income through sex work recognized, but seldom addressed inadequate, joined responses.  (October 2015, Science Speaks Blog)
• Emergency needle exchange in Indiana reduces HIV and HCV risk for people who inject drugs.  (October 2015, AIDSmap)
• Retreat of international donors and neglect of national governments threatens harm reduction services.  (October 2015, AIDSmap)
• Opioid substitution therapy, especially in combination with needle exchange, reduces transmission of hepatitis C.  (October 2015, AIDSmap)
• Success for Needle Exchange in Indiana County With HIV Outbreak.  (October 2015, Poz)
• Injection Drug Users With Hep C Should Get Treatment.  (October 2015, Hepmag)
• Managing HIV in special populations.  (October 2015, Healio)
• Sex workers, injection drug users and men who have sex with men continue to be most affected by HIV epidemic, panelists say.  (October 2015, Science Speaks Blog)
• HCV Current Initiative: Addressing the National Epidemics of Prescription Opioid misuse and Hepatitis C through Unique Partnerships.  (October 2015, Hepmag)
• Dynamics and Demographics of Opiate Addiction Are Shifting.  (September 2015, Hepmag)
• HIV treatment as prevention scale-up linked to reduced mortality among people who inject drugs in Vancouver.  (September 2015, AIDSmap)
• Hepatitis C Largely Explains Higher Mortality in Injection Drug Users With HIV.  (August 2015, TheBodyPro)
• Low-threshold methadone maintenance reduces HIV risk for people who inject drugs.  (August 2015, AIDSmap)
• Third of people with HIV who use drugs intentionally miss doses of HIV treatment when planning to use drugs.  (August 2015, AIDSmap)
• Indiana HIV outbreak offers lessons about containing local outbreaks and need for harm reduction.  (August 2015, AIDSmap)
• Treating HIV and Addiction Together Packs a Life-Saving Punch.  (August 2015, Poz)
• Vancouver’s treatment as prevention success is also due to harm reduction and addiction treatment.  (July 2015, AIDSmap)
• Opioid substitution therapy combined with HIV treatment saves the lives of more drug users than ART alone.  (July 2015, AIDSmap)
• People with HIV who inject drugs benefit most from integrated treatment, study finds.  (July 2015, Science Speaks Blog)
• Hep C Coinfection Increases Death Risk in Drug Users With HIV.  (July 2015, Hepmag)
• NYC Almost Ends HIV in Injection Drug Users, But Only Among Whites.  (June 2015, Poz)
• Harm reduction for people who inject drugs in New York has worked, but hasn’t reduced racial inequality.  (May 2015, AIDSmap)
• CDC Warns of Overlapping HIV and Hep C Outbreaks Among IDUs.  (April 2015, Hepmag)
• Community Outbreak of HIV Infection Linked to Injection Drug Use of Oxymorphone – Indiana, 2015.  (April 2015, MMWR)
• Opioid substitution treatment increases chances that people who inject drugs will have good adherence to HIV therapy.  (April 2015, AIDSmap)
• Janssen Gives 8 U.S. Groups Grants to Help Injection Drug Users.  (April 2015, Hepmag)
• WHO Calls for Universal Use of Smart Syringes by 2020.  (March 2015, Poz)
• Reducing the Frequency of Needle Sharing Can Help Prevent HCV.  (January 2015, Hepmag)
• Substance use and social problems predict HIV infection in American gay men.  (January 2015, AIDSmap)
• HCV prevention campaigns need to focus on reducing frequency of injecting drug use involving sharing of equipment.  (January 2015, AIDSmap)
• HIV-Positive Heroin Users CD4s May Drop Faster With Spotty Use.  (December 2014, Poz)
• Hep C Is Up in Rural Injection Drug Users.  (December 2014, Hepmag)
• Europe and Central Asia Are Failing to Curb the HIV Epidemic.  (December 2014, Poz)
• Safer injecting practices would be better promoted by focusing on pleasure and practical concerns – not the risk of infection.  (December 2014, AIDSmap)
• Lower Hep C Risk for Young IDUs on Opioid Maintenance Therapy.  (November 2014, Hepmag)
• ACR Health Launches Syringe Exchange in Utica, N.Y.  (October 2014, Hepmag)
• Injection Drug Use Disproportionately Drives HIV in Puerto Ricans.  (September 2014, Poz)
• Youth at Risk: Heroin, Hep C and the Prescription Painkiller Epidemics.  (September 2014, Hepmag)
• Scottish Harm Reduction Program Scale-up Lowers Hep C Cases.  (September 2014, Hepmag)
• Hepatitis C Cases Rising Among Young, Non-Urban Drug Users.  (August 2014, TheBodyPro)
• Expanded harm reduction provision achieves impressive reductions in HCV incidence among PWID in Scotland.  (August 2014, AIDSmap)
• Hep C Rising Among Young Non-Urban Injection Drug Users.  (August 2014, Hepmag)
• Vancouver Injection Drug Users Moderately Interested in PrEP.  (August 2014, Poz)
• Emergent HCV epidemic among young, non-urban people who inject drugs in the United States.  (August 2014, AIDSmap)
• Program for Drug-Using Couples Lowers Hep C and Risky Sex Rates.  (August 2014, Hepmag)
• AbbVie’s Hep C Regimen Is Safe with Opioid Replacement Therapy.  (July 2014, Hepmag)
• Recession and income inequality have fuelled HIV infections in European drug users.  (July 2014, AIDSmap)
• European Economic Downturn Tied to HIV Uptick in Drug Users.  (July 2014, Poz)
• Harm reduction and drug policy – no one left behind.  (July 2014, Science Speaks Blog)
• Harm reduction funding meeting only 7% of global need.  (July 2014, AIDSmap)
• Young Drug Users at Especially High Risk of HIV and Hep C.  (July 2014, Poz)
• Interferon-free hepatitis C treatment works for people on methadone or buprenorphine.  (July 2014, AIDSmap)
• HIV, Hep C Advocates Urge Congress to Lift Syringe Funding Ban.  (July 2014, Hepmag)
• ‘Robust’ evidence of HIV epidemic among people who inject drugs in the Middle East and North Africa.  (June 2014, AIDSmap)
• High prevalence of risk behaviour means there’s potential for worsening of HIV epidemic among people who inject drugs in Europe.  (June 2014, AIDSmap)
• HIV Spikes Among Drug Users in Middle East, North Africa. (June 2014, Poz)
• Voucher Incentives Draw Injection Drug Users Into HIV Care.  (May 2014, Poz)
• Voucher incentives improve engagement with HIV care among people who inject drugs.  (May 2014, AIDSmap)
• Harm Reduction Programs for Injection Drug Users Curb HIV. (May 2014, Poz)
• Methadone and buprenorphine-naloxone both associated with reduced HIV risk among people who inject drugs.  (April 2014, AIDSmap)
• Implementation of a comprehensive harm reduction programme curtailed the HIV epidemic among people who inject drugs in Taiwan.  (April 2014, AIDSmap)
• HIV and Opioid Epidemics Chart Similar Paths.  (April 2014, Poz)
• Targeting HIV in Drug Injectors Can Lower AIDS in Heterosexuals.  (March 2014, Poz)
• Multi-Pronged Prevention Tactics Could Slash HIV Rates in IDUs.  (March 2014, Poz)
• Gay Men, IDUs and People With HIV Should Test for Hep B.  (February 2014, Poz)
• Recreational Drug Use Associated With Increased High-Risk Sexual Behaviors Among Young Gay Men Living With HIV.  (December 2013, TheBodyPro)
• Syringe Exchanges Prevent HIV: Just Ask Australia.  (December 2013, Poz)
• Harm reduction works: extremely low HIV incidence over almost 20 years among people who inject drugs in Australia.  (November 2013, AIDSmap)
• Tel Aviv and Bucharest signal warnings of new HIV epidemics among people who inject drugs.  (October 2013, AIDSmap)
• Eastern Europe facing quadruple epidemic while governments do nothing, warns UN Special Envoy.  (October 2013, AIDSmap)
• Men attending group sex ‘slam parties’ don’t all use or inject drugs.  (October 2013, AIDSmap)
• Making treatment as prevention a reality for people who inject drugs.  (September 2013, AIDSmap)
• High prevalence of heart rhythm disturbance among HIV-positive people on methadone maintenance therapy.  (August 2013, AIDSmap)
• Sticking it to HIV: Funding needle exchange programs would save lives and money.  (July/August 2013, Positively Aware)
• Malaysia’s harm reduction programmes are preventing infections and saving money, but reaching far too few people who inject drugs.  (July 2013, AIDSmap)
• Bangkok PrEP study finds PrEP efficacy is related to drug exposure.  (July 2013, AIDSmap)
• Trial of PreP in Drug Users Called Into Question.  (June 2013, Poz)
• PrEP works for injecting drug users too.  (June 2013, AIDSmap)
• Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Protects Drug Users Against HIV.  (June 2013, Poz)
• Lack of Food Raises Risk of Death in Drug Users With HIV.  (June 2013, Poz)
• ‘War on drugs’ fueling the hepatitis C epidemic among people who inject drugs.  (May 2013, AIDSmap)