Health Emergency 1997: The Spread of Drug-Related AIDS Among African Americans and Latinos

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Health Emergency 1997: The Spread of Drug-Related AIDS Among African Americans and Latinos

The Dogwood Center, Princeton, NJ (11/5/96)
Day, Dawn

Abstract: HIV is a serious risk for injection-drug users and could be reduced with government-supported needle-exchange programs, claims Dawn Day, director of Dogwood Center, a New Jersey- based independent research organization, in a new report. Among injection drug users (IDUs), African-Americans and Latinos are especially vulnerable to AIDS, with African- American IDUs four times as likely to have AIDS as white IDUs, and Latinos at least one and a half times as likely. African- Americans have more than four times the risk of getting AIDS than of dying from an overdose, Day reports. Moreover, the risk of AIDS among Latinos is more than three times greater than the risk of dying from an overdose. Over the past five years, 70 percent of all injection-drug related AIDS cases among African-Americans and Latinos were reported. To curb injection-related HIV infections, Day concludes, all levels of government must support needle-exchange programs, including allowing the possession of sterile needles, the sale of syringes without prescriptions, and the operation of needle- exchange programs.

961231
AD962472

Copyright © 1996 - Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD. The CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention provides the following information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. This daily update also includes information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, fact sheets, press releases and announcements. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the information. Contact the sources of the articles abstracted below for full texts of the articles.

AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1996. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 1996. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.