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Deal Us In

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Syringe Services Programs (SSPs) Reduce HIV and Hepatitis C

SSPs reduce HIV and hepatitis C infections by 50%.* They also increase access to testing and treatment. Medication cures more than 95% of hepatitis C infections, but access to diagnosis and treatment is low.* Funding SSPs is key.

Syringe Services Programs (SSPs) Reduce HIV and Hepatitis C

What You Need To Know

  • HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), viral hepatitis, and overdose are interrelated epidemics – also known as a syndemic. For example, having an STI increases the likelihood of acquiring HIV. Among people who are living with hepatitis C and HIV, hepatitis C progresses faster and more than triples the risk of liver disease. 

  • These epidemics are also driven by similar social and economic conditions and disproportionately impact many of the same vulnerable communities, including Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+ individuals, and people who use drugs. Learn more about these intersecting epidemics below.

  • Access to well resourced, peer based, syringe services programs could help to end all of these epidemics. 

  • Direct-acting antiviral medicines (DAAs) can cure more than 95% of persons with hepatitis C infection, but access to diagnosis and treatment is low.

  • Because new HCV infections are usually asymptomatic, few people are diagnosed when the infection is recent. In those people who develop chronic HCV infection, the infection is often undiagnosed because it remains asymptomatic until decades after infection when symptoms develop secondary to serious liver damage.

  • The majority of new hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are due to injection drug use without access to sterile syringes. Reports of HCV cases rose 3.5-fold from 2010 to 2016.* 

  • More than 2,500 new HIV infections each year are due to injection drug use without access to sterile syringes.*

  • SSPs are associated with an estimated 50% reduction in HIV and HCV infections. Transmission is reduced by over two-thirds* when combined with medications that treat opioid dependence (also known as medication-assisted treatment).

  • SSPs act as a bridge to other health services, including HCV and HIV testing and treatment and medication-assisted treatment.*

  • The CDC supports the needs-based approach to syringe distribution, as the evidence shows that this is the best practice for reducing new HIV and viral hepatitis infections.1,2


Where to Go for More Information


Programs To Know


Research

  • The efficacy of needle exchange programs in the prevention of HIV and hepatitis infection among injecting drug users

  • Aspinall, E. J., Nambiar, D., Goldberg, D. J., Hickman, M., Weir, A., Van Velzen, E., . . . Hutchinson, S. J. (2014). Are needle and syringe programmes associated with a reduction in HIV transmission among people who inject drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Epidemiol, 43(1), 235- 248. doi:10.1093/ije/dyt243

  • Bernard, C. L., Owens, D. K., Goldhaber-Fiebert, J. D., & Brandeau, M. L. (2017). Estimation of the cost-effectiveness of HIV prevention portfolios for people who inject drugs in the United States: A model-based analysis. PLoS Med, 14(5). doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002312

  • Martin, N. K., Hickman, M., Hutchinson, S. J., Goldberg, D. J., & Vickerman, P. (2013). Combination interventions to prevent HCV transmission among people who inject drugs: modeling the impact of antiviral treatment, needle and syringe programs, and opiate substitution therapy. Clin Infect Dis, 57 Suppl 2, S39-45. doi:10.1093/cid/cit29

  • Hagan H, McGough JP, Thiede H, Hopkins S, Duchin J, Alexander ER, “Reduced injection frequency and increased entry and retention in drug treatment associated with needle-exchange participation in Seattle drug injectors”, Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2000; 19:247–252.



Additional Resources

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