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Prevention of HIV in injecting drug addicts. What has been done - what could be better?

Gölz J

Praxiszentrum Kaiserdamm, Berlin, BRD.

Efficient prevention of HIV in drug users has had to overcome major political opposition in the last decade. Even today many evidence-based measures for the prevention of infections in drug users are still not being applied. Only a few preventive approaches are broadly carried out in the GFR: methadone maintenance performed by general practitioners, antiretroviral therapy and information about safer use given by AIDS- and drug-consultants and syringeexchange by pharmacies and at special institutions. In contrast, injection room facilities, street workers council, vaccination programs and low threshold medical treatment are only implemented in isolated cases. Nevertheless, HIV prevalence among drug users has been reduced successfully and the rate of new infections has decreased from 13.2% in 1994 to 9% in 2006. These strategies, however, do not seem to have any effect on the spread of hepatitis C among drug users. Here we still face a prevalence of 45-70%. Therefore, future research should focus on preventive measures against HCV infection of drug users.

Published 22 March 2007 in Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz.
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