Addicts 'unaware of Aids'

Nearly three-quarters of injecting drug addicts tested in London were unaware they had the Aids virus, writes Celia Hall.

In the first UK study of the behaviour of injecting drug users confirmed to be HIV positive, published in the November edition of the journal Addiction, 70.1 per cent did not know they had the virus, 41 per cent had never received treatment for their habit and 52 per cent had never been HIV tested.

The research was among 104 HIV-positive drug users, of whom 80 per cent were not part of any treatment programme. Prevalence of HIV among injecting drug users is about 10 per cent.