Intravenous Drug Abuse and the HIV Epidemic in Two Midwestern Cities: A Preliminary Report

Abstract

This paper reports on data being collected on Intravenous drug abusers (IVDAs), their sexual partners and the spread of HIV among them in the cities of Dayton and Columbus, Ohio. Findings are reported on some 253 subjects in Dayton and 164 subjects in Columbus. The sample in each city was predominantly black males, with a mean age of 36 years. In both cities, the reservoir of HIV infection remains quite low among IVDAs and sex partners. In Dayton among 330 tested, only 1.11% were seropositive; in Columbus among 392 tested, 1.53% tested positive for the AIDS virus. The paper discusses these findings from the perspectives of the epidemiology of the HIV, needle-use patterns, and lifestyles of the region's IVDAs and sex partners.

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