Opioid substitution therapy is associated with decreased HIV transmission among people who inject drugs
- Yale Medical Group, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Correspondence to: Lynn E Fiellin
Yale Medical Group, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; lynn.sullivan{at}yale.edu
Commentary on:
Context
Injection drug use (IDU), through the sharing of drug injection paraphernalia and concurrent sexual risk behaviours, continues to fuel the HIV epidemic.1 Approximately, 16 million individuals inject drugs globally, an estimated 3 million of whom are HIV infected, underscoring the need for effective intervention.1 Although opioid substitution therapy (OST) is an important component of HIV prevention,2 ,3 only 8 of 100 individuals globally with IDU receive OST.2 A recently completed systematic review by the Cochrane Collaborative concluded that OST leads to risk reduction and decreased HIV incidence.4 The review included …
