Drug Injectors and the Cleaning of Needles and Syringes

Ra, Hughes

doi:10.1159/000019005

Cited by 28 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…In our study, the overall prevalence of HbsAg is 1.1%. As HCWs are already at a high risk of exposure, the low level of prevalence may be due to the fact that amongst the general population there are other common modes of transmission including sexual contact [17], blood transfusions and transfusion with other human blood products [18], re-use of contaminated needles and syringes [19], and vertical transmission from mother to child (MTCT) during childbirth. Duration of practise was also noted to be contributory to the acquisition of the viral infection as observed by Luiz et al, Coelho et al, and Janzen et al, that extended time in service increases the exposure to the infection which is in contrary to this study because the two participants who are seropositive have less than three years work experience [11,20,21].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Occupational Risk Factors Among Health Care Workers in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Alese¹

2016

JCDR

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Occupational Risk Factors Among Health Care Workers in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Alese¹

2016

JCDR

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“…Syringes were washed out with cold tap water between injections. However, interviews and observations indicated that although most users possessed their own needles and syringes, sharing of injecting equipment occurred, as is common amongst injecting drug users in other settings (Lockley, 1995;Power et al, 1996;Hughes, 2000). Users in this setting had little awareness that sharing injecting equipment was an efficient way of transmitting HIV.…”

Section: Levels Of Injectingmentioning

confidence: 97%

The characteristics and recent growth of heroin injecting in a Kenyan coastal town

Beckerleg

Hundt

2004

Addiction Research & Theory

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This article discusses the challenges of estimating levels and patterns of heroin use in a setting where there were no official records. Ethnographic fieldwork, carried out in a Kenyan Coastal town, utilised a range of qualitative research methods in an attempt to estimate numbers of male and female users and the proportion of them who were injectors of heroin. In the town of at least 85 000 people, it was estimated that there were perhaps about 600 heroin users, of whom about 30 were women. The ratio of male to female users was estimated to be 20 : 1. Fifty per cent of users in the town were estimated to be injectors of heroin. They were found to have poor injecting techniques, to share equipment from time to time and to have low awareness of the link between injecting drug use and HIV infection. An urgent need for harm reduction strategies was identified.This article reports on how levels and patterns of heroin use were estimated in a Kenyan town where there are no available 'official' records regarding drug deaths, arrests or of users in services. The research was carried out at the beginning of a study into the lives of women heroin users focussing on risk strategies and reproductive health. In this article we report how the population of heroin users in the town and the ratio of male to female users were estimated. In addition, we describe how patterns of heroin use, either by injection or smoking, were identified and the estimated proportion of injectors.Heroin use in Kenya, as elsewhere, is illegal, criminalised, stigmatised and therefore, hidden. As such, its study poses particular challenges for researchers. Indeed, the difficulties of researching hidden populations of illicit drug users are well known (Stimson and Choopanya, 1998;Lambert, 1990). Researchers, usually working in European or North American cities, have developed methods to count populations of illicit drug users and to validate the findings by cross referencing to other data sources (Hartnoll et al., 1985;Domingo-Salvany, 1998). Yet, there remains uncertainty as to

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“…Although most Malindi users possess their own needles and syringes, sharing of injecting equipment occurs, as it is common amongst IDU in other settings [28,31,32]. Sharing can occur in a number of different ways, but does not appear to be perceived as a routine practice in Malindi.…”

Section: Heroin Injecting Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

The rise of injecting drug use in east Africa: a case study from Kenya

2005

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Studies on injecting drug use in East Africa are reviewed. The existingstudies document the spread of heroin injection in Kenya and Tanzania, both countries where HIV rates are high. No data from Uganda on injecting drug use was found by the authors. A case study of the growth of heroin injection in a Kenyan coastal town is presented. The need for needle-exchange programmes and other prevention services is discussed.

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Drug Injectors and the Cleaning of Needles and Syringes

Cited by 28 publications

References 63 publications

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Occupational Risk Factors Among Health Care Workers in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Occupational Risk Factors Among Health Care Workers in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The characteristics and recent growth of heroin injecting in a Kenyan coastal town

The rise of injecting drug use in east Africa: a case study from Kenya

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