Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and infection with hepatitis viruses in individuals abusing drugs by injection.

The abuse by injection of heroin or other drugs has long been associated with liver disease caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) and other viruses. Increasingly severe hepatic and virological complications of parenteral drug abuse have been reported due to infection with new viruses or concomitant alcohol abuse. The hepatitis delta virus (HDV) can replicate and cause liver infection only in the presence of HBV; such infection in HBV carriers may cause rapidly progressive and clinically significant liver disease. Liver cirrhosis is frequently detected in parenteral drug abusers who have chronic infection with both HBV and HDV or who also abuse alcohol. More than one quarter of those persons with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the United States of America are homosexual or heterosexual males who are parenteral drug abusers. Existing evidence implicates parenteral drug abusers in the spread of hepatitis viruses and the retrovirus associated with AIDS to the general population. To cope with these serious problems the authors suggest that more intensive international co-operation is needed, particularly with a view to promoting data collection, research and the exchange of knowledge and experience on measures that have been effective in dealing with parenteral drug abuse and its complications.