AAFP: Stop spread of diseases by IV-drug users
The Academy has joined the chorus of major medical organizations calling for a national strategy to prevent the spread of infectious diseases associated with illicit drug use.
The AAFP Board of Directors was prompted by the Academy's Commission on Public Health to discuss the issue of a federal syringe exchange program.
Marshall Kubota, M.D., a commission member who cares for many HIV-infected patients in Santa Rosa, Calif., said a federal program would exchange --not supply --syringes and needles. Reducing the circulation and sharing of needles can curb the spread of infectious diseases such as AIDS, he said.
"The number one cause of HIV in women is transmission from heterosexuals, most of whom are drug-using men," Kubota said. "If we can reduce the transmission among IV-using men and women, we can also reduce the transmission to newborns."
Kubota said exchanging syringes and needles also provides a point of contact with drug users and an opportunity for education and rehabilitation.
Board Chair Patrick Harr, M.D., of Maryville, Mo., outlined the Academy's position in a letter to Donna Shalala, Ph.D., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The April 1 letter stated, "Six federally funded reports and numerous other scientific studies have concluded that syringe exchange programs reduce HIV transmission and do not encourage drug use. In fact, it was these many authoritative, scientific studies that persuaded the Academy of the appropriateness of supporting syringe exchange programs."
Harr noted that half of all new HIV infections are the result of injection drug use. He also spelled out the Academy's recommendations for components of a federal syringe exchange program. They include:
- drug abuse and addiction referral;
- HIV testing and counseling;
- hepatitis B testing and immunization;
- referral for social, health care, mental health and reproductive health services;
- processes to assure the safe disposal of exchanged syringes and needles; and
- adequate funding for continuity and consistency of syringe exchange programs.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department. Copyright © 1998 by American Academy of Family Physicians.