Hepatitis/HIV
For
people who inject drugs, Hepatitis is a serious health threat: one
of the most common ways of getting Hepatitis is through sharing injecting
equipment. In most areas today–rural, suburban or city–injectors
are more likely to have Hepatitis B or C than HIV!
In the United States, over 600,000 reported cases of AIDS have been
recorded since 1981 and it is believed that 900,000 Americans may
be infected with HIV.
Although development time varies from individual
to individual, since 1992 scientists have estimated that roughly half
of the people living with HIV will develop AIDS within 10 years of
becoming infected.
AIDS is growing most rapidly among minority populations,
as well as women and injection drug users. According to the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of AIDS is six
times higher in African-Americans and three times higher among Hispanics
than among whites. |
