It is estimated that an individual IDU injects about 1,000 times
a year and that persons with diabetes who use insulin inject
once or twice a day. Providing community-based ways to safely
dispose of used syringes is an important public health priority.
As of 2004, injection drug use accounted for about one-fifth of
all HIV infections and most hepatitis C infections in the United
States.1,2 Injection drug users (IDUs) become infected and
transmit the viruses to others through sharing contaminated
syringes and other drug injection equipment and through high-
risk sexual behaviors. Women who become infected with HIV
through sharing needles or having sex with an infected IDU can
also transmit the virus to their babies before or during birth
or through breastfeeding. To effectively reduce the transmission
of HIV and other blood-borne infections, programs must consider
a comprehensive approach to working with IDUs. Such an approach
incorporates a range of pragmatic strategies that address both
drug use and sexual ri