LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)-A disturbing drug trend known as “bluetoothing” is emerging as a major public health threat, fueling a rapid surge in HIV infections across vulnerable regions.
The practice involves one drug user injecting a substance like heroin or methamphetamine, then passing their drug-laced blood to another user through direct injection, a high-risk shortcut to get high on the cheap.
Once dismissed as urban legend due to its extreme danger, bluetoothing is now confirmed by health authorities in countries like Fiji, South Africa, and Tanzania, where it is contributing to fast-growing HIV epidemics.
Public health experts warn that even if relatively few people engage in this behavior, the risk of disease transmission is so high that it demands immediate and aggressive health intervention.
“You’re basically getting two doses for the price of one. But with that comes catastrophic consequences,” said Dr. Brian Zanoni, an Emory University professor who has researched drug-injecting behaviors in South Africa.
In Fiji, where UNAIDS recently declared an HIV outbreak, bluetoothing has been cited as a factor behind a 10-fold increase in new infections since 2014. Data shows that about half of newly diagnosed individuals on antiretroviral therapy reported needle sharing, though it’s unclear how many specifically practiced blood sharing.
The majority of these cases are concentrated in the 15–34 age group.
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Highlighting the severity of the crisis, UNAIDS regional director Eamonn Murphy, said, “We’re seeing young kids dying from HIV, children involved in drug use and sex. Bluetoothing is just one part of a much bigger crisis driven by poverty, lack of clean needles, and unprotected sex.”
The practice is particularly dangerous because it combines several high-risk factors including, shared blood, unknown blood types, potentially contaminated syringes, and reduced drug potency, which often leads users to inject more frequently. Even small amounts of infected blood can carry tens of thousands of HIV particles, making transmission almost inevitable.
In South Africa, a sample study showed that 18 percent of people who inject drugs had engaged in bluetoothing. In Tanzania, a similar practice known as “flashblooding” has spread from city centers to suburbs, disproportionately affecting women in transitional housing.
Meanwhile, in Pakistan, users have been found selling half-used syringes containing blood-infused heroin.
Therefore, experts are calling for urgent harm reduction strategies, including needle exchange programs, drug education, and stigma reduction campaigns, especially in resource-strapped countries. However, efforts face cultural and political resistance.
“It’s the perfect way to spread HIV. This is a wake-up call for governments because the speed of transmission through blood sharing is terrifying,” Executive Director of Harm Reduction International Catherine Cook, said.
Amid rising poverty, addiction, and shrinking drug supplies in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities, bluetoothing represents a new frontier in the battle against infectious disease outbreaks, one that could spiral out of control without decisive action.
