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The majority of injection drug users with hepatitis C continue to share needles and other drug paraphernalia even after learning of their diagnosis and receiving education, according to a study by researchers from the Johns ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½, the New York Academy of Medicine, and Columbia University. The study is published in the October 1, 2002, issue of and was reported by . It suggests that risk reduction education may only have a limited benefit.  

The study found that just 17 percent of injection drug users decreased their sharing needles after being diagnosed with hepatitis C and about 15 percent decreased their frequency of "back loading," which is the process of using a syringe to inject drugs into another syringe. In contrast, nearly 35 percent of the study participants reported either increasing or not changing their needle sharing after learning of their hepatitis C status and 76 percent said they increased or did not change their frequency of back loading.

"This study indicates that testing and counseling for hepatitis C infection is clearly not enough to generate significant behavior changes", reported , associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½. She led the study with Danielle Ompad, PhD, MHS, a graduate student at the School, and other colleagues. "These findings underscore the need for enhanced behavioral interventions and increased access to HCV treatment for HCV-infected drug users, in order to thwart continued transmission of hepatitis C," explained Dr. Strathdee. Nearly 4 million persons in the U.S. and 170 million persons worldwide have been infected with the hepatitis C virus.

Crystal M. Fuller, David Vlahov, and David Thomas also contributed to the study "Lack of Behavior Change after Disclosure of Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Young Injection Drug Users in Baltimore, Maryland."