‘Bluetoothing’: Blood-Sharing Drug Trend Fuels Alarming Global H.I.V. Surge

The practice, in which users inject the blood of already intoxicated individuals, has fueled one of the fastest-growing H.I.V. epidemics in the Pacific and grown widespread in South Africa.

Oct. 8, 2025

A person uses a syringe in one hand to inject into the other hand.

A drug addict in Pretoria, South Africa, in March.Themba Hadebe/Associated Press

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A dangerous drug trend called “bluetoothing,” in which people inject themselves with the blood of other drug users to get a cheap high, is contributing to spikes in H.I.V. rates in infection hot spots around the world.

The blood-sharing practice, which is many times riskier than sharing needles, has helped fuel one of the fastest-growing H.I.V. epidemics in Fiji and grown widespread in South Africa, another infection capital, according to public health authorities and researchers.

The idea of sharing drug-laced blood is so unthinkably dangerous that for years, experts have questioned how common it is. But even if relatively few people do it, the practice can spread diseases like H.I.V. and hepatitis so quickly that experts say it requires a strong public health response.

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