Methadone Saves Over 7,000 Drug Users From HIV Infection in China

China's Ministry of Health said Thursday that more than 7,000 HIV infections have been avoided as a result of methadone maintenance treatment. The use of methadone as a substitute for heroin in drug treatment has been legal in China since 2004, and the HIV infection rate among people undergoing MMT has declined ever since, the ministry said.

China now operates 708 methadone clinics, providing MMT to more than 300,000 addicts, said Wu Zunyou, director of the National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention at the country's Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The infection rate among users receiving MMT was 1 per 100 in 2005; it now stands at 0.38, Wu said. Among registered users not undergoing MMT, the rate is between 2.07 and 9.96 per 100, he said.

Methadone clinics are common in the southwestern provinces that border international drug-trafficking routes, including Yunnan and Guangxi. A single dose of methadone costs about 10 yuan (US $1.50).

Wu said MMT has helped reduce China's heroin consumption by 41.8 metric tons. In addition, approximately 7,500 program participants have obtained jobs.

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