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Citing the spread of infections badociated with rising rates of opioid use across the country, including HIV, viral hepatitis, skin and soft tissue infections, Bones and Joints and Endocarditis, an article published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases asks the federal government for coordinated and strengthened interventions by specialists in infectious diseases and drug addicts.
The article, written by a team of authors from the University of Maryland's School of Medicine and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and including NIAID's director, Anthony Fauci, MD, points out that opioid use has increased since the late last year with increased injecting drug use. The authors note that in 2016, injecting drug use was linked to 13% of new HIV diagnoses and the majority of new hepatitis C infections.
The article points out that infectious disease specialists faced with epidemics of infections related to injecting drug use are finding themselves increasingly on the front of the opioid epidemic at the time of the epidemic. countries and must be able to recognize, refer and treat substance abuse disorders. The authors recommend that drug treatment service providers, including mental health professionals, nurses, and social workers, be prepared to screen clients for infections and refer at-risk individuals to programs providing sterile needles and needles and other supports. the risk of infection. The authors note that the limited number of providers in both areas, as well as the lack of sterile needle and syringe programs, exacerbate the challenges that providers face in dealing with the growing crisis.
The authors call on the federal government to invest in expanding evidence-based interventions and supporting the necessary workforce.
The American Society for Infectious Disease Control (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine Association also continue to appeal to Congress and the Administration to ensure the resources and manpower needed to reverse the trend towards the rise in the number of infectious diseases fueled by the epidemic of opioids. Organizations supported the Congressional Chair's request to provide a minimum of $ 58 million to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support surveillance, prevention, detection and linkage address the full range of infectious diseases badociated with substance use disorders and encourage collaboration with local and national health departments, health facilities and service providers in these responses.
In addition, the groups urge Congress to fund at least $ 25 million loan repayment program for drug treatment, as recommended by the SUPPORT law, and have invited the administration of health and resources to include infectious disease and diagnosed HIV specialists. and treat drug-related infections as part of student loan repayment programs, including designating clinics funded by Ryan White as eligible sites of the National Health Service Corps.
IDSA and the HIV Medicine Association have announced that they will continue to call for support for innovative, responsive and evidence-based models of care, as well as to address the challenges faced by staff and the challenges they face. will be essential to ending the effects of the opioid crisis.
Source: IDSA
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