HIV Infection and Injecting Drug Use in Australia: Responding to a Crisis

Abstract

Multiple data sources indicate low levels of HIV infection among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Australia despite a high prevalence of behaviours associated with considerable risk of transmission of infection in this population and a high prevalence of HIV infection among homosexual/bisexual males. The containment of HIV infection among IDUs in Australia in the 1980s, a remarkable public health achievement by national and international standards, probably represents the most important national accomplishment in the alcohol and drug field during the past decade. A number of factors can be identified which have probably been responsible for the early adoption and vigorous implementation of multiple complementary prevention strategies. Complacency and supply restriction drug policy are now among the most critical factors limiting further containment efforts. Progress in implementing strategies to reduce HIV transmission among IDUs in prisons proceeds far slower than all other areas associated with control of HIV infection in this population.