HIV infection rates have reached epidemic proportions amongst injecting drug users (IDUs) in Iran. Although a number of community-based interventions have being implemented in the country, there is little information on the risk behaviors of IDU participants in these programs. This cross-sectional report aimed to compare the risk behaviors of injecting drug users with differential exposure rate...

BACKGROUND Drug use and in particular injecting drug use has been at the forefront of the explosive spread of HIV in general populations in many countries in Asia. There is concern that also in China increased HIV incidence in drug users might spark off a generalized epidemic in the wider population. Close monitoring of HIV incidence and risk factors in drug users is therefore important to be a...

BACKGROUND Regular HIV testing among people who inject drugs is an essential component of HIV prevention and treatment efforts. We explored HIV testing behaviour among a community-recruited sample of injection drug users (IDU) in Bangkok, Thailand. METHODS Data collected through the Mitsampan Community Research Project were used to examine correlates of HIV testing behaviour among IDU and to ...

OBJECTIVES We describe the characteristics of injecting drug users (IDU) in Pakistan in 2006 and 2011, and assess the heterogeneity of IDU characteristics across different cities and years as well as factors associated with HIV infection. METHODS Cross-sectional, integrated behavioural-biological surveys of IDU were conducted in 10 cities across Pakistan in 2006 and 2011. Univariate and multi...

OBJECTIVE To determine the availability of syringes for injection drug users (IDUs) from pharmacies in Denver. DESIGN Single-group, uncontrolled, noncomparative study. SETTING Denver, Colorado. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS 23 randomly selected pharmacies in the Denver metropolitan area and 3 additional pharmacies located near drug-buying locations. INTERVENTION Attempt by eight traine...

Bangladesh initiated an early response to the HIV epidemic starting in the mid-1980s. Since then, the response has been enhanced considerably, and many HIV-prevention interventions among the most at-risk populations and the general youth are being undertaken. Alongside prevention activities, gathering of data has been a key activity fostered by both the Government and individual development par...

Cryptococcosis is a fungal disease which has been characterized by its identified risk groups. There are many risk factors identified. We present a surprising four cases of disseminated cryptococcosis in intravenous drug abuse (IVDA) patients in a short period of time and in one geographical area, this observation suggest that there may be a new association with IVDA and cryptococosis.

Introduction and Aims. One of the most substantial costs of drug use is lost productivity and social functioning, including holding of a regular job.However, little is known about employment patterns of injection drug users (IDU).We sought to identify factors that were associated with legal employment among IDU. Design and Methods.We describe the employment patterns of participants of a longitu...

BACKGROUND While incarceration has consistently been associated with a higher risk of HIV infection for individuals who use injection drugs (IDU), the effect of incarceration on the post-release risk environment remains poorly described. We sought to assess the impact of incarceration on risk factors for HIV infection after release from prison in a sample of active IDU in Vancouver, Canada. M...

Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [6] (CDC) released a study titled Communities in Crisis: Is There a Generalized HIV Epidemic in Impoverished Urban Areas of the United States. The study is the third in a series of the CDC's rotating surveillance reports conducted to better understand America's HIV epidemic. Previous studies looked at HIV among gay and bisexual men (MSM) and ...