Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
United Press International - August 29, 2007
"Our findings suggest that interventions to reduce high-risk behaviors among injection drug users are urgently needed in Afghanistan," says Dr. Catherine S. Todd, of the University of California, San Diego. "The window of opportunity is rapidly closing to avert an HIV epidemic among Afghan injection drug users."
The researcher team surveyed 464 injection drug users in Kabul age 18 and older between June 2005 and June 2006. In this group of Afghan males, high-risk behaviors were common. For instance, 50 percent were sharing syringes and 76 percent had paid for sex with a woman. More than half had been incarcerated in prison, 21 percent of them, more than once.
The prevalence of infection with HIV was calculated at about 3 percent, while 38 percent of the respondents tested positive for Hepatitis C infection. The high prevalence of hepatitis C may potentially foreshadow an HIV epidemic because the infections share common risk factors.
The study, published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, concludes an increase of needle exchange and other harm-reduction programs, particularly in prisons, is necessary.
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