Pubdate: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON) Copyright: 2006 The Kingston Whig-Standard Contact: http://www.kingstonwhigstandard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/224 Author: Rob Tripp STUDY EXAMINES DRUG USERS' SEX LIVES A Queen's University researcher has found a strikingly high rate of risky sexual conduct by injection drug users. The finding from a pilot study of 60 users in Hamilton, Ont., suggests that a long-standing needle exchange program designed to combat the spread of infectious disease is undermined by other conduct of the drug users. HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can be transmitted when injection drug users share dirty needles. Many injection drug users also are active in the commercial sex trade, as prostitutes or in exchanging sex for drugs. The use of clean needles by drug users is a barrier to the transmission of HIV, but if users continue to have unprotected sex, the disease still has a path to spread. Dirty needle sharing and unprotected sex also are common transmission paths for hepatitis C and other diseases. Prof. Ana Johnson-Masotti was quick to point out her sample of drug users was small and the 97 per cent figure includes all respondents who engaged in some unprotected sex, even if they also engaged in safe sex. "This is just a preliminary finding just to show that the interviewing process works," said Johnson-Masotti, of the department of community health and epidemiology. The research is a first step in determining whether needle exchange, condom distribution and education campaigns are cost-effective tools in controlling the the spread of infectious diseases. Johnson-Masotti said it is difficult to get material and information into the hands of the drug users, who shun contact with agencies and organizations. "Once we reach them, programs seem very effective," she said. Her pilot project, funded by a provincial granting agency, also involves sampling of drug users in Waterloo, Ont. "In the future, we intend to expand the program across Ontario to include maybe five regions," she said. Since 1992, a needle exchange program has operated in Hamilton from a van that visits different parts of the city. Kingston has a needle exchange program that operates out of a storefront on Montreal Street near Brock Street. The Hamilton survey found that 97 per cent of the respondents injected drugs with clean needles. The bulk of the survey sample, 78 per cent, was male. Seventy per cent of the group was over the age of 40. Seventy-five per cent of participants reported injecting 10 or more times in the previous 30 days, mainly using cocaine and crack. Similar research in major Canadian and American cities reveals that many injection drug users engage in unprotected sex, although the rates typically range between 60 and 80 per cent of the sexually active respondents. A national study in 2003 that tracked roughly 800 drug users in four Canadian cities, Regina, Sudbury, Toronto and Victoria, found that 60 per cent of male respondents never used a condom while having intercourse with regular female partners. Johnson-Masottti's survey of drug users in Hamilton was conducted using face-to-face interviews between last October and January. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek