HIV infection among intravenous drug abusers in the United States and Europe.

AIDS is a serious public health problem for IVDAs in the United States and Europe. Although AIDS and HIV infection are concentrated in New York and New Jersey in the United States, and in Italy and Spain in Europe, AIDS has been diagnosed and reported among IVDAs in all 50 States of the United States and 16 countries in Europe. It is quite apparent that, once HIV is introduced into a group of IVDAs, it can spread readily between IVDAs, to their sexual partners, and to their children in utero. Unfortunately, one can only expect HIV seroprevalence rates and AIDS cases to continue to increase among IVDAs worldwide for at least the next several years. Concerted efforts to develop, implement, and evaluate potential prevention strategies among IVDAs are urgently needed.