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Infections

Additional risks from unsafe injection practices result primarily from sharing materials (needles, cookers, syringes) used in injection. Blood-borne pathogens, such as HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C are of particular concern among injection drug users who share supplies, and increase the likelihood of infection. An added challenge, is that not only infected individuals know their positive status and continue to share supplies, placing other users at risk for infection as well. 30-50% of adults will not experience acute Hepatitis B symptoms, and those that do experience lethargy, nausea, upper abdominal pain, muscle aches, or a darkening of urine will need to connect these symptoms to a possible infection to seek care and limit spreading of the virus.