Shooting Up reports on infections among people who inject drugs

Infections are common among people who inject drugs. Around one-third of them report having a symptom of a bacterial infection (such as a sore or abscess) at an injecting site in the past year.
Staphylococcus aureus and Group A Streptococcal infections continue to cause severe illnesses among people who inject drugs in the UK.
Since 2000 there have been 163 cases of wound botulism, 93 of Clostridium novyi infection, 52 confirmed cases of anthrax and 35 of tetanus associated with injecting drug use in the UK. Cases from the UK make up the vast majority of the reported cases of these four infections associated with injecting drug use in Europe.
Around one-half of people who inject drugs in the UK have been infected with hepatitis C and one-sixth with hepatitis B.
The prevalence of HIV among those who have injected drugs remains comparatively low in the UK. It is estimated that around one in every 100 has HIV.
Needle and syringe sharing is lower than a decade ago, although one-fifth of people who inject drugs continue to share needles and syringes.

Last reviewed: 2 November 2011