Difficult-to-Reuse Needles for the Prevention of HIV Infection Among Injecting Drug Users.

摘要

The paper reviews various possibilities of using non-reusable injection technologies for reducing HIV transmission among injecting drug users in the United States. It does not put forth the redesign of injection equipment as a policy option for congressional consideration; it merely examines some of the implications of a proposal put forth by some health experts. The analyses in the paper indicate that redesigning injection equipment is unlikely to reduce the spread of HIV and may have other unintended consequences. There is no syringe yet designed and feasible to manufacture that could not be defeated by someone seeking to reuse it. Distributing enough syringes to prevent the establishment of a black market for injection equipment that can be easily reused presents significant logistical and ethical dilemmas.