Will Bleach Decontaminate Needles During Cocaine Binges in Shooting Galleries?

To the Editor. —  Intravenous drug users (IVDUs) are the second largest group of persons at risk for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in the United States and Europe, and are the major source of heterosexually transmitted acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in the United States and Europe.¹ Many risk-reduction campaigns in the United States emphasize getting IVDUs to use bleach to decontaminate injection equipment. As a result, bleach has become widely used among IVDUs.In vitro studies show that bleach in a 1:10 dilution with water effectively kills human immunodeficiency virus² and also inactivates human immunodeficiency virus infection in white blood cells.^3,4 The use of bleach to disinfect injection equipment also appears to be relatively safe.⁵ No studies have yet demonstrated whether bleach use affects seroprevalence rates among IVDUs or whether persons who inject different drugs might be more or less likely to use bleach consistently. Two studies^6,7