Prescription drugs just like the opiate pethidine have replaced cannabis and heroin because the drugs of choice among children in India. Most teenagers start with cannabis before moving to opiates and pharmaceuticals. the explanation is the easy availability of prescribed drugs.
Sharing needles is driving new infections within the northeastern states. Drug injectors account for 1.7% of India’s HIV infections up from 0.9 to 2 years ago. With Punjab and western provinces emerging because of the new epicentres of injecting drugs these numbers are expected to rise in India. The injecting drug use accounts for approx one in three new HIV cases outside geographic region.
According to UNAIDS 2009 report, in Eastern Europe and Central Asia HIV prevalence will be as high as 70% among folks that inject drugs. the increase in infections has prompted public health experts to ask governments to decriminalise drug users and lift bans on drugs like methadone and buprenorphine.
Drug addicts are reluctant to register at de-addiction centres for fear of harassment by the police. They are patients and not criminals. Scientific evidence needs to be incorporated into illicit drug policies that are pushing injectors from prevention and care services infections.
In India, adult HIV prevalence has dropped from 0.45% in 2002 to 0.29% in 2008 to its lowest ever a number of two.27 million. All states except provinces are reporting but 1% infection down from five states in 2002. However, unprotected sex ( 87% heterosexual and 1.5% homosexual )remains the most important route of infection in India.
While the globe specialises in using innovations in science, diagnostics and understanding of the virus, India has chosen to stay to the tried and tested methods of controlling HIV. According to NACO, the most focus is on scaling existing prevention methods like preventing mother-to-child transmission and ensuring blood safety, focusing on prevention efforts in the communities where transmission is the highest like migrants, men who love men, injecting drug users and sex workers.
