Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
PRNewswire - November 21, 2002
"This powerful report brings home the severity of the problem of AIDS spread through dirty needles. We have got to be about preventing disease," said former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Joycelyn Elders. "Silence about the importance of needle access programs is causing the deaths of thousands of our bright young black and Latino men and women. Time is slipping away. Our bright young people are slipping away."
The study, "Health Emergency: The Spread of Drug-Related AIDS and Hepatitis C Among African Americans and Latinos," is the fifth study in a series detailing the impact of the injection-related AIDS and hepatitis C epidemic on African Americans and Latinos. The Dogwood Center has been documenting the spread of AIDS and hepatitis C through the "Health Emergency" series since 1995.
The study also examines methods of disease prevention, specifically, the need for more studies to determine the benefit/critical importance of needle exchange programs among injecting drug users. According to "Health Emergency," there have been eight federally funded research studies that found needle exchange programs slow the spread of HIV and do not increase drug use.
In addition, the latest United Nations report on worldwide AIDS prevention also points to the importance of sterile needles for HIV prevention.
"Through this study, we are able to prove that syringe exchange is effective HIV prevention," said Maria Chavez, California Director of the Harm Reduction Coalition. "We firmly believe that with more, federally-funded needle exchange programs, we will be able to help prevent the further spread of blood-borne disease like HIV and hepatitis C."
The study also examined the benefit of treating people with drug addiction in helping prevent the spread of AIDS and the struggles that come with treating those that are disadvantaged and disproportionately affected by HIV and hepatitis C.
"New AIDS and hepatitis C treatments have extended life for many thousands of patients," said Chavez. "Unfortunately, many African American and Latino patients are not benefiting as much as whites from the new treatments. The outcomes of this study underscore the critical need for action to be taken on behalf of these communities to ensure that they are receiving the information and medication they need to fight the spread of these diseases."
Additional Study Facts and Findings
* Clean needles save lives -- According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), using sterile syringes only once remains the safest, most effective approach to limiting HIV transmission among injection drug users who cannot or will not stop injecting drugs.
* Cost Effective -- It is three times more expensive to provide medical treatment for one person sick with HIV/AIDS than to prevent one new HIV infection using needle exchange programs and pharmacy sale of syringes.
* Hepatitis C -- With hepatitis C, as with AIDS, is a blood-borne disease where a major factor in the spread of the disease is sharing needles.
* Women, Children and Families -- With thousands of motherless children and about 60 percent of all AIDS cases among women caused directly or indirectly by HIV-infected needles, the case for clean-needle programs to save the lives of women and children and prevent the destruction of families could not be stronger. Some 80 percent of infants born with HIV are African American or Latino.
* Lack of health care -- Sub-optimal health care received by African American and Latino people with AIDS is translating into more infections that might be the case if these people were receiving care comparable to that received by whites.
* Bridge to Treatment -- Every needs exchange program in the country serves as a major entry point to drug treatment for drug injectors.
Full copies of "Health Emergency: The Spread of Drug-Related AIDS and Hepatitis C Among African Americans and Latinos" can be obtained by contacting the Harm Reduction Coalition at he2003@harmreduction.org or by logging on to http://www.harmreductions.org.
About Dogwood Center
The Dogwood Center is an independent, nonprofit research organization concerned with social justice issues related to drugs and AIDS.
The director of The Dogwood Center is Dawn Day, an activist scholar with over thirty years of experience as a researcher and writer on social issues. Dr. Day has a Ph.D. in sociology and an MSW in social work, both from the University of Michigan.
Donations to The Dogwood Center are most welcome and are tax-deductible.
About Harm Reduction Coalition
Harm Reduction Coalition is committed to reducing drug-related harm, including HIV, Hepatitis, homelessness, violence and death among individuals and communities. HRC believes in every drug user's right to health and well-being, as well as in their competency to protect and help themselves, their loved ones, and their communities. HRC forms part of a broader progressive movement of individuals and organizations seeking to challenge the social, cultural and economic structures -- including current drug policy-that foster and sustain disadvantage, discrimination and denial of civil liberties and human rights. Founded in 1993, HRC has offices in both Oakland, California and New York City.
SOURCE Harm Reduction Coalition; The Dogwood Center
Web Site: http://www.harmreductions.org
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