 
March 16, 2009
Heroin Influx Threatens to Raise Australia’s HIV Rate
An independent advisory organization in Australia warns that a significant increase in the global production of heroin could inflate HIV and hepatitis C infections, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
According to the article, the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) believes that more heroin could enter the country due to conflict in the Middle East and anarchy in southwest Asia.
Though heroin use and related overdose deaths have declined in Australia since 2001, ANCD’s Asia-Pacific Committee chair, associate professor Robert Ali, warned that a heightened availability of could translate to new injection drug users who aren’t aware of the risks.
“We need to get ahead of the game,” Ali said. “We need to work with our near-neighboring countries…because that will be in our long-term domestic security interest.”
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