Track C report by David WILSON
This report was written in advance of the session in order to provide adequate time for preparation of the rapporteur feedback.
This symposium provides a global perspective of prevention and treatment strategies for HIV/AIDS among drug using populations.
Using antiretroviral treatment as prevention is a topical concept and is also proposed for populations of people who use drugs. It is suggested that strategies around education, change in behavior and harm reduction have largely failed and new strategies and technologies are not in sight for IDUs. An ecological study has shown the association between decreases in HIV viral load and incidence in a population of IDUs in Canada. At the same time there have been increases in the proportion of treated people attaining suppressed viral levels and decreases in rates of drug resistance.
There is an interaction between drugs and HIV. Some psychoactive drugs exacerbate neurotoxic effects of HIV. Treatment of ‘drug abuse’ has been demonstrated to be highly effective in reducing the risk of HIV seroconversion. Future research into prevention and treatment for drug using populations includes investigation of long-acting injectable medications, immunotherapies for addiction treatment, new heroin vaccines, treatment of cocaine addiction, and exploring strategies for targeting addicted/non-addicted components of the brain.