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The Spread of Intravenous Drug Use and AIDS in a Neighborhood in Spain
Author(s) -
Gamella Juan F.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
medical anthropology quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.855
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1548-1387
pISSN - 0745-5194
DOI - 10.1525/maq.1994.8.2.02a00010
Subject(s) - intravenous drug , drug , heroin , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , demography , medicine , transmission (telecommunications) , substance abuse , psychiatry , virology , viral disease , sociology , electrical engineering , engineering
This article traces the process of the adoption of intravenous drug use in a Madrid neighborhood between 1978 and 1990 and how that process influenced the local spread of HIV/AIDS. During this period, intravenous drug use reached massive proportions in Spain and became a main factor in the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country. Data collected on 245 intravenous drug users and the motives and circumstances of first intravenous drug use in 124 cases show a consistent pattern of social transmission, a high prevalence of HIV infection among drug users, and a high risk of infection for their partners and children. Contrary to prevalent stereotypes, often heroin was not the first drug injected.
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