HIV rates rise among drug users

INFECTIOUS diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis among drug users are on the increase, the House Crime Committee heard yesterday.

The reason is because almost half of all intravenous drug addicts inject with used needles.

The information was presented in parliament by the Cyprus Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EKTEPN).

Speaking to reporters following the meeting’s conclusion, EKTEPN head Neoklis Georgiades said there had been a 25 per cent increase in drug users in 2007 from 2006.

He also said the number of infectious diseases, specifically hepatitis, had multiplied exponentially from 2004.

“In 2007 there were 22 deaths, half of which were directly related [to drug use],” he added.

In previous years the number of drug deaths recorded had fluctuated between 14 and 17.

“There seems to be a small increase,” he said.

Georgiades said the typical profile of people treated tended to be 29-year-old Greek Cypriot male heroin users.

He also said the number of users seeking treatment had increased in 2007 to 800.

Moreover regarding drugs’ availability, the EKTEPN head said there had been an increase in cases, confiscations and arrests but that there had also been a drop in prices.

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