“Although there was a significant increase in the use of syringe services programs (SSPs)—more commonly known as needle exchange programs—across the United States over the past decade, many injection drug users don’t always use sterile needles, a federal government report says.
Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at data from injection drug users in 22 cities with high rates of HIV. In 2015, 54 percent of injection drug users said they used a needle exchange program in the past year. That was up significantly compared to the 36 percent who said they used such a program in 2005.
Despite the increased use of needle exchange programs, 33 percent of drug users in 2015 said they had shared a needle within the past year. In 2005, that number was 36 percent, the CDC report said.
The findings were published Nov. 29 in the CDC’s Vital Signs.”
Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-11-needle-exchange-years-cdc.html
The report can be accessed at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6547e1.htm?s_cid=mm6547e1_w
See related article: Drug epidemic stalls HIV decline in whites who shoot up – 11/29/16 available at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-11-drug-epidemic-stalls-hiv-decline.html
For more information from the CDC on HIV and injection drug use go to: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/idu.html
Source: MedicalExpress.com – November 30, 2016
