HIV among injecting drug users: current epidemiology, biologic markers, respondent-driven sampling, and supervised-injection facilitiesDes Jarlais, Don Ca; Arasteh, Kamyara; Semaan, Salaamb; Wood, EvancCurrent Opinion in HIV and AIDS: July 2009 - Volume 4 - Issue 4 - p 308–313 doi: 10.1097/COH.0b013e32832bbc6f Epidemiology: Edited by Tim Mastro and Quarraisha Abdool-Karim Buy Abstract Author InformationAuthors Article MetricsMetrics Purpose of review To describe recent research done primarily during the past 12 months (i.e., primarily in 2008) on the epidemiology of HIV infection among injecting drug users (IDUs). Recent findings Major research developments include a global assessment of HIV infection among IDUs and evidence of a transition from epidemics concentrated among IDUs to generalized, heterosexual epidemics in eastern Europe and Asia. Intervention research also includes several studies of supervised-injecting facilities. Methodological research includes respondent-driven sampling and the use of hepatitis C virus and herpes simplex virus-2 as biomarkers for injecting and sexual risk. Summary There have been important advances in research during the past year, but HIV infection continues to spread rapidly across many areas of the world among IDUs and their nondrug-using sex partners. aBeth Israel Medical Center, New York, New York bCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA cThe University of British Columbia, Division of Infectious Diseases, Vancouver, Canada Correspondence to Don C. Des Jarlais, Beth Israel Medical Center, 160 Water Street, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10038, USA Tel: +1 212 256 2548; fax: +1 212 256 2570; e-mail: dcdesjarla@aol.com © 2009 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
