aureus, an antibiotic resistant bacteria) and endocarditis (a dangerous
heart disease caused by bacteria infection) due to sharing injection
equipment (CDC, 2019a).
Being in a lower socioeconomic group and engaging in other risky
behavior increases infection rates among PWID and their communities.
Since some PWID experience homelessness or unstable housing, the
limitation of their social economic status prevents them from seeking
medical assistance and disease prevention, which largely increases the
health risks among PWID. Also, research has shown that PWID are
more likely to engage in risky behavior, such as unprotected sexual
contact, sex for money, and multiple sexual partners (CDC, 2020a).
Therefore, other people in their communities may undergo high risk of
blood-borne diseases. The sexual partners of PWID can be infected by
body fluid transmission, and even a newborn baby can be infected by
mother-to-child transmission if the mother is infected. The family
members are also at high risk of these diseases, and they can be infected
by contacting the contaminated supplies used by their PWID family
members, for instance, people being accidentally poked by a used
needle.
Worse than being infected, a lot of PWID die from overdose. Data
from the CDC (2020d) claimed overdose as “a leading cause of injuryrelated
death in the United States,” and, on average, 130 people die from