Open AccessMedical Consequences of Drug Abuse and Co-occurring Infections: A Brief Review
Author(s) -
Jag H. Khalsa
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
american journal of infectious diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1558-6340
pISSN - 1553-6203
DOI - 10.3844/ajidsp.2007.184.190
Subject(s) - intensive care medicine , medicine , drug , substance abuse , pharmacology , psychiatry
Today substance abuse remains one of the major problems in the world with millions of people abusing legal and illegal drugs. In addition, almost one-third of the world population of 6.7 billion people may also be infected with one or more infections. Both drugs of abuse and infections are associated with enormous burden of social, economic and health consequences. This paper briefly discusses a few medical consequences of drugs of abuse and infections such as human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus. Research is encouraged to study interactions between infections, drugs of abuse, and underlying pathophysiologic and molecular/genetic mechanisms of these interactions