Guidance on prevention and control of infectious diseases amongst people who inject drugs
Update of the joint 2011 European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) and European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) guidance on prevention and control of infectious diseases among people who inject drugs
(2020-2022)
In 2011, the ECDC and the EMCDDA jointly published guidance on “Prevention and control of infectious diseases among people who inject drugs”. A stakeholder survey carried out in 2018 by the two agencies suggested the need to update the evidence base underpinning the guidance recommendations, to reflect new evidence and to take cognisance of emerging public health topics and new regional/global infectious disease strategies. The ECDC and the EMCDCA initiated the update process in 2019 and commissioned an update of the evidence base and a collection of evidence for several new areas. To update the evidence base, we conducted (1) an update of the review of reviews on the effectiveness of drug treatment, needle and syringe provision (NSP) and drug consumption rooms (DCRs) and (2) a literature review of modelling studies on the population-level impact of opioid substitution therapy (OST) and NSP on HCV transmission. Evidence was translated into preliminary recommendations and a multidisciplinary expert panel was appointed to critically appraise the evidence and draft recommendations at a panel meeting. The conclusions were incorporated into the guidance.
Project team
Norah Palmateer (Principal investigator, Glasgow Caledonian University), Sharon Hutchinson, Hannah Fraser (University of Bristol), David Goldberg (Public Health Scotland, GCU), Matt Hickman (University of Bristol), Peter Vickerman (University of Bristol), Jack Stone (University of Bristol)
Contact: norah.palmateer@gcu.ac.uk
Funded by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
Key projects and expertise
Links where you can find out more about our key projects and expertise.
Learn moreGroup members and research students
Academic staff and research students within the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Viruses group
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