Pubdate: Mon, 30 Jan 2006
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2006 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact:  http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Patti Edgar
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange)

REPORT SAYS ADDICTS AVOID NEEDLE SHARING

HIV Down Among City's Intravenous Drug Users

MOST Winnipeg intravenous drug users say they don't share dirty 
needles, according to a new study by Manitoba Health

Four out of five users told researchers they never give away a needle 
or prepare drugs in another person's syringe. And 63 per cent had 
used a needle exchange, which gives clean syringes to drug users.

That means users say they are taking steps to protect their health, 
said Ann Jolly, a scientist with the Public Health Agency of Canada. 
Dirty needles can harbour up to 20 blood-borne diseases including HIV.

"That is definitely very, very promising. I think there is a lot of 
hope in the results of the study," she said.

The report was based on a questionnaire given in 2003 and 2004 to 435 
people who had injected drugs within the last six months. It was the 
first large-scale study in Winnipeg since 1998, although Jolly 
cautions that the two studies shouldn't be used for comparison since 
the older study was conducted differently. Of Winnipeg IV drug users 
surveyed by Jolly and her colleagues, 54 per cent had hepatitis C, 32 
per cent had hepatitis B and seven per cent were HIV-positive. 
(That's down from 1998, when 12 per cent surveyed had HIV.)

For public health officials, not only is sharing needles and 
equipment a concern, but also the cuts and burns users sharing straws 
or pipes for smoking drugs get around their lips and mouths.

"(The) opportunity for disease transmission along these routes still 
does occur and these practices continue to occur in some 
circumstances, even when an individual suspects the needle has been 
used by someone infected by a blood-borne pathogen," reads the report 
prepared by John Wylie, an assistant professor at the University of 
Manitoba and the lead researcher.

The most notable change since 1998 was a drop in injection cocaine 
use, although it still remains the drug of choice among users at 38 
per cent. No single drug has filled the gap, but several other drugs 
have become more popular, such as heroin, morphine, and Ritalin.

Two drugs that have made headlines arrived on Winnipeg's drug scene 
after 1998 -- crystal methamphetamine and oxycodone, with 17 per cent 
saying they had used the former and two per cent the later. Those 
drugs aren't taken intravenously.

The study paints a picture of IV drug users "hanging out" in the 
inner city, half living on their own, nearly a quarter with a friend 
or family members, and the rest living in a hostel, rooming house, 
hotel, vehicle or on the street.

Of the users, 38 per cent reported some form of employment. Study 
participants were also involved in prostitution, theft, panhandling 
and selling stolen goods.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman