What is bluetoothing or hotspotting and how the dangerous trend is fueling new HIV infections

Talk about bad blood.Health experts are sounding the alarm over a disturbing trend where drug users swap blood to score a secondhand high.Called “bluetoothing,” the gruesome movement is fueling a wave of new HIV infections in hotspots around the globe, including Fiji and South Africa.Doctors are warning that the surge in cases is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the risks tied to this dangerous practice — also known as “hotspotting.”Here’s everything you need to know about the rise of this deadly, cost-cutting hack.It’s a risky street practice that involves injecting a powerful drug — like heroin or meth — then drawing a small amount of drug-laced blood back into a syringe and injecting it into someone else to share the high.The process is repeated from one person to the next, often using the same needle.“In settings of severe poverty, it’s a cheap method of getting high with a lot of consequences,” Brian Zanoni, an Emory University professor who has studied drug injecting behaviors in South Africa, told the New York Times this week.“You’re basically getting two doses for the price of one.”But experts say it’s unclear if it actually works.

Some believe the secondhand injection may offer a weaker high, while others say it’s little more than a placebo.“Young people, who sometimes do not have enough money to buy the drugs they want, are exposing themselves to all kinds of dangers by injecting themselves with the blood of others,” Maj Gen Khomo Mohobo, who runs a youth initiative in Lesotho in Africa, where the practice is common, told The Guardian.At the top of the list is HIV.Unlike regular needle-sharing, this method involves direct blood transfer — meaning any virus in the first person’s bloodstream is injected straight into the next, bypassing the body’s usual defenses.And HIV isn’t the only threat.Because people have different blood types, injecting the wrong one can cause a severe and even fatal immune r...