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A new study, published October 4
online by the British journal BMJ, has found that treating drug addicts with
methadone significantly reduces the risk that they will get HIV or give it to
anyone else.
The study combined data from studies
done in nine countries, and concluded that making methadone available reduced
HIV risk by 54 percent. Many countries, including Russia, have large HIV
epidemics among addicts; nonetheless, these countries outlaw methadone and
buprenorphine treatment for religious, political, or other reasons.
Methadone alone does not affect the
virus. Scientists believe it works because addicts on treatment become better
able to cease selling sex for drugs and stop sharing needles. The addicts are
also more likely to stay on antiretroviral drugs, which lower the chance that
they will infect others. The authors suggested that opiate-substitution therapy
was effective because addicts who are motivated enough to pursue treatment are
also smart about protecting themselves in other ways. The study estimated that
contaminated needles cause 5 to 10 percent of all the world’s HIV infections.
The problem is the most serious in Eastern Europe and Central and Southeast
Asia, regions that are located on the fringes of opium-growing areas.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
