Human immunodeficiency virus and drug misuse: the Edinburgh experience.

During 1985 many drug abusers who lived in Edinburgh were found to be infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). As a result an alternative counselling and screening clinic for testing for antibodies to HIV was established for use by drug abusers. Four hundred and forty one patients were counselled in the first year, and over 60% were either drug abusers or their sexual contacts. One hundred and fourteen (26%) patients were positive for HIV antibody, and 100 (88%) of these were current or former drug abusers. The HIV seropositivity rate in drug abusers was 52% but was only 7% in their sexual contacts. Services were provided for these people as well as counselling before and after the test. The cost of this counselling service for the first year was 27,000 pounds or 61.22 pounds per patient. The unexpected mobility of 23% of the Edinburgh drug abusers, particularly to other areas of Britain, suggests that similar services need to be set up elsewhere.

[1]  P. Wiggins,et al.  REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN HIV ANTIBODY SEROPOSITIVITY IN BRITISH INTRAVENOUS DRUG USERS , 1986, The Lancet.

[2]  R. Brettle,et al.  HTLV-III ANTIBODIES IN AN EDINBURGH CLINIC , 1986, The Lancet.

[3]  J. Morgan,et al.  Epidemic of AIDS related virus infection among intravenous drug abusers. , 1986, British medical journal.

[4]  S. Franceschi,et al.  INCREASED PREVALENCE OF HTLV-III ANTIBODY AMONG DRUG ADDICTS FROM ITALIAN PROVINCE WITH US MILITARY BASE , 1986, The Lancet.

[5]  B. O'Donnell,et al.  HTLV-III ANTIBODY IN DRUG ABUSERS IN THE WEST OF SCOTLAND: THE EDINBURGH CONNECTION , 1986, The Lancet.

[6]  R. Brettle,et al.  Epidemic of AIDS related virus (HTLV-III/LAV) infection among intravenous drug abusers. , 1986, British medical journal.

[7]  S. Hinrichs,et al.  The prevalence of HTLV-III/LAV antibodies among intravenous drug users attending treatment programs in California: a preliminary report. , 1986, The New England journal of medicine.

[8]  P. Mortimer,et al.  PREVALENCE OF ANTI-HTLV-III IN UK RISK GROUPS 1984/85 , 1986, The Lancet.

[9]  P. Simmonds,et al.  HTLV-III ANTIBODY IN EDINBURGH DRUG ADDICTS , 1985, The Lancet.

[10]  M. Fischl,et al.  Mothers of infants with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Evidence for both symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers , 1985 .

[11]  S. Friedman,et al.  Prevalence of antibody to lymphadenopathy-associated virus among drug-detoxification patients in New York. , 1984, The New England journal of medicine.