4. Intravenous Drug Use
Drug addicts are at high risk of contracting all forms of hepatitis due to sharing needles. The hepatitis A virus lasts for up to 7-days outside of the body, infecting anyone who comes in contact with the live pathogen. Needles provide the ideal conduit for the virus to spread from person to person.
Intravenous drug users often share needles without the thought of sterilizing them beforehand. As a result, the rates of HAV and HBV infection in areas with large homeless populations – such as San Francisco, are skyrocketing out of control.
The city now offers various health programs allowing addicts to trade in their old needles for new, sterile syringes. The efficacy of these programs is still yet to be determined. City health official’s opinions split on whether these programs are adding to the problem of homelessness and addiction, or helping to curb the spread of disease in the homeless and addicted communities.