This review used data gathered from the Nation's 96 largest cities, where HIV infection rates are the highest. Most newly HIV-infected IDUs live in northeastern cities from Boston to Washington, D.C., as well as in Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico. In these cities, where injection drug use rates are the highest among the 96 cities surveyed, an average of 27 percent of all IDUs are HIV-infected. Among these three risk groups, there are currently an estimated 565,000 HIV infections, with 38,000 new infections occurring each year. An estimated 19,000 IDUs are infected each year in these areas, indicating an HIV incidence rate of about 1.5 infections per 100 IDUs per year.
Infection rates are lower for the other two high-risk groups.
These efforts can reduce or eliminate drug use and drug-related HIV risk behaviors such as needle sharing and unsafe sex practices. One study comparing HIV infection rates among drug abusers enrolled in methadone treatment programs to rates among those not in treatment found that those not in treatment were nearly seven times more likely to have become infected with HIV during the first 18 months. The study also found that the longer drug abusers remained in treatment, the less likely they were to become infected. In addition, drug treatment programs help reduce the spread of other blood-borne infections, including hepatitis B and C viruses. Adequate medical care for HIV or AIDS and any related illnesses is also critical to reducing spread.