Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2004 Mar;81(1):14-9.
doi: 10.1093/jurban/jth083.

Updating the infection risk reduction hierarchy: preventing transition into injection

David Vlahov  1 , Crystal M Fuller, Danielle C Ompad, Sandro Galea, Don C Des Jarlais
Affiliations
Review

Updating the infection risk reduction hierarchy: preventing transition into injection

David Vlahov et al. J Urban Health. 2004 Mar.

Abstract

Current approaches to prevention of blood-borne infections in injection drug users include referral to drug abuse treatment, access to sterile syringes, bleach disinfection of injection equipment, and education about not sharing equipment. However, rates of some blood-borne infections (e.g., hepatitis C virus) remain elevated among injection drug users, especially early after initiation into injection drug use. With lower infection rates in noninjectors and transition into injection drug use occurring most commonly among these noninjectors, prevention of transition into injection drug use as an additional step to reduce risk for acquisition and transmission of blood-borne infections merits closer attention.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. US Public Health Service. HIV prevention bulletin: medical advice to persons who inject illicit drugs. May 9, 1997. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/idu/pubs/hiv_prev.htm. Accessed October 5, 2003.
    1. Vlahov D, Munoz A, Anthony JC, Cohn S, Celentano DD, Nelson KE. Association of drug injection patterns with antibody to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 among intravenous drug users in Baltimore, Maryland. Am J Epidemiol. 1990;132:847–856. - PubMed
    1. Jarlais DC, Friedman SR. HIV infection among intravenous drug users: epidemiology and risk reduction. AIDS. 1987;1:67–76. - PubMed
    1. Mandell W, Vlahov D, Latkin C, Oziemkowska M, Cohn S. Correlates of needle sharing among injection drug users. Am J Public Health. 1994;84:920–923. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Johnson J, Williams ML. A preliminary ethnographic decision tree model of injection drug users’ (IDUs) needle sharing. Int J Addict. 1993;28:997–1014. - PubMed

Publication types