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This study was conducted to determine whether enrollment in a needle exchange program (NEP) was associated with reduction(s) in high-risk injection practices among HIV-seropositive drug users. Between August 1994 and August 1997 HIV-seropositive individuals who underwent baseline and 6-month follow-up visits in the Baltimore NEP evaluation were studied. Chi-square statistics and paired t tests were used to compare reported injectionrelated behaviors between visits. One hundred and twelve HIV-seropositive NEP participants completed baseline and follow-up visits. Between visits self-reported lending of used syringes to others decreased (34.0% vs. 15.5%, p = .001), borrowing syringes from others decreased (23.2% vs. 11.1%, p = .002), and reported participation in drug treatment increased (8.0% vs. 18.8%, p = .01). A decrease in the mean number of injections per syringe was reported, 11.4 vs. 4.7 (p < .001). These data suggest that NEP attendance can contribute to significant reductions in risky drug-use behaviors in HIV-seropositive drug users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To inform efforts at preventing future pandemics, we assessed how socio-demographic attributes correlated with wildlife consumption as COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) first spread across Asia. Self-reported wildlife consumption was most strongly related to COVID-19 awareness; those with greater awareness were 11-24% less likely to buy wildlife products. A hypothetical intervention targeting increased awareness, support for wildlife market closures and reduced medical impacts of COVID-19 could halve future wildlife consumption rates across several countries and demographics., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)