The high prevalence of HIV among people who inject drugs is raising concern over the dangers of using non-sterile or shared injecting equipment, with health professionals warning that infections can become severe and potentially fatal.
Dr Manisha Naidu of Aspen Medical Hospital in Lautoka says the combination of HIV and unsafe injecting drug use is putting patients at increased risk of serious infections.
Presenting findings from a study on acute infections among people who inject drugs at Lautoka Hospital during the Fiji Medical Association’s Annual Scientific Conference 2026, Naidu highlighted a 31 percent inpatient mortality rate and a 32 percent death rate within 30 days of hospital discharge.
She says 80 percent of the patients included in the study were living with HIV, highlighting the serious health risks faced by people who inject drugs, particularly where sterile injecting equipment is not available or is shared.
Naidu says patients remain at extremely high risk even after leaving hospital, challenging the assumption that discharge marks the end of the danger.
She says many patients present to hospital late, often already suffering from severe infections, making treatment more difficult.
Naidu says limited hospital resources are adding to the challenge, with shortages in bed capacity, limited intensive care services and minimal harm-reduction resources making it harder to manage critically ill patients.
She adds the findings also highlight the need for stronger prevention and intervention at community level, including access to harm-reduction services, psychosocial support, peer engagement, screening, counselling and improved disease surveillance.
Naidu says the study also recommended integrated services for HIV, hepatitis and syphilis, alongside stronger harm-reduction programmes and continued support for patients after discharge.
She cautioned that the findings came from a hospital-based study and should not be interpreted as a population-wide estimate and that the stigma surrounding HIV and injecting drug use may also have resulted in some patients underreporting their circumstances during interviews.
Naidu says prevention must begin before people who inject drugs reach hospital, with greater focus needed on reducing exposure to infections associated with unsafe injecting practices.
News
HIV
HIV risk raises concern over non-sterile injecting drug use
