Pubdate: Tue, 01 Mar 2005
Source: Agence France-Presse (France Wire)
Copyright: 2005 Agence France-Presse

RISING USE OF INJECTABLE DRUGS MAY LEAD TO HIV EPIDEMIC IN PAKISTAN

On Tuesday, UN and government officials said the number of injecting drug 
users in Pakistan is on the increase, which could lead to an upswing in HIV 
infections. "The writing is on the wall for Pakistan: either get a grip on 
injecting drug use and sharing of needles or get ready to face and HIV/AIDS 
epidemic," Vincent McClean, representative of the UN office of Drugs and 
Crime, said during the launch of the International Narcotics Control Board 
report.

"The injecting drug use and sharing of needles is the fastest way to 
accelerate an HIV/AIDS epidemic," said McClean. "Once the needle-sharing 
drug injectors reach a critical mass, there is a very rapid spread into the 
general population through sexual transmission."

Major General Nadeem Ahmed, commander of Pakistan's Anti Narcotics Force, 
said the government is aware of the threat. "We still are a low-prevalence 
country, but there is a cause for alarm," said Ahmed. "We need to move 
faster on this."

About a year ago, Ahmed's force in the southern city of Larkana apprehended 
some 100 IV heroin users, and 17 of them tested HIV-positive. Two of 
infected persons had even donated blood, Ahmed noted. "Injecting drug users 
are like a ticking time bomb," he said.

According to Ahmed, Pakistan has about 4 million drug users. Nearly half a 
million of these use heroin, and 12 percent of them inject the drug. Though 
the country was declared poppy-free in 2000, Pakistan has seen a resurgence 
of poppy cultivation during the last two years. Pakistan also shares a 
1,553-mile border with Afghanistan, the world's largest opium producer.
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