The reuse of syringes to administer drugs intravenously is a primary vector for diseases that can be transmitted through blood, and the practice is expressly forbidden in medicine. However, such reuse, known colloquially as needle sharing, is common among users of illegal drugs. Because these diseases include fatal venereal diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS, illegal IV drug use has become a societal health threat, and programs to decrease needle sharing have been established, often in contravention of the law.
The number of cases of AIDS among IVdrug users in New York City is roughly comparable to the total number of cases in San Francisco and is approximately three quarters of the total number of cases in Europe.
Among IVdrug users, there is competition for the money needed to purchase drugs, for the very limited supply of drugs, and sometimes even for the equipment needed to inject the drugs.
Frequency of drug injection was associated with seropositivity in all three studies (the more frequently a drug user was injecting, the more likely he or she was to share equipment with someone who could transmit the virus).
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