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A recently published Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that from 2015 to 2018, an estimate of 1.6 million adults in the United States reported methamphetamine use in the last year with 52.9% having methamphetamine use disorder and 22.3% reporting injection use. However, fewer than one third of adults with methamphetamine use disorder received treatment in the past year. The report found that co-occurring substance use and mental illness were common among those who used methamphetamine. In order to combat these issues, increasing or building state and local prevention and response capacity, expanding linkages to care, and enhancing public health and safety collaborations are necessary.
Another CDC MMWR reported that disseminated gonococcal infection is a systemic complication of untreated gonorrhea occurring after sexual transmission and through the spread of gonorrhea to distant body sites. In August 2019, three people were hospitalized with disseminated gonococcal infection, and there were thirteen confirmed and three probable cases reported from August -December 2019. Thirteen reported or tested positive for drug use, including three who reported injection drug use. With this happening so close to Indiana, it is important to note that outreach and surveillance is ongoing.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could be especially threatening to those who smoke tobacco, marijuana or vape due to the diseases attach on the lungs. Additionally, people with opioid use disorder (OUD) may also be vulnerable with the effects that those drugs take on respiratory and pulmonary health. On top of the disease conditions, those with a substance use disorder are also more likely to experience homelessness or incarceration than those in the general population, posing more challenges in regard to transmission of COVID-19.
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