Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
BBC News - Friday, 24 September, 2004
Ania Lichtarowicz, BBC News health reporter
Researchers from Australia and the UK say the health of the world's most populous region depends on how fast countries implement prevention schemes.
More than 60% of injecting drug users in many Asian countries are HIV-positive.
That number is set to rise significantly, researches say.
The virus can then spread into heterosexual populations, often through sex workers who also use drugs.
Safe drug programmes work, say the authors of an editorial in the journal.
Despite this, authorities are concerned that they may encourage drug use.
Also, Asian governments tend to follow US anti-HIV strategies which, according to the researchers, are less than impressive, with more than a third of new HIV cases in the United States related to injecting drugs.
There has been progress with needle exchange programmes in Indonesia, Vietnam and China.
However, the BMJ argues that too little is being done to curb what researchers say is probably the most serious global health problem since the Great Plague, which killed more than 25 million people in the Middle Ages.
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