Drug-use surge raises call for program

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — People who inject illegal drugs in West Virginia’s largest county should have expanded access to sterile syringes, testing and treatment in response to one of the nation’s highest spikes of HIV cases, according to federal and state recommendations released Tuesday.

The report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state Department of Health and Human Resources, and Kanawha County’s health department comes amid a new state law that tightens requirements for needle exchange programs.

The report found that there were 63 new intravenous drug-related HIV cases in Kanawha County from January 2019 through May 13 of this year. Before 2019, the average number of such cases in the county was less than five per year. The surge was attributed at least in part to the cancellation in 2018 of a needle exchange program in Kanawha County.

The CDC investigation also recommended that the community get involved in addressing the HIV outbreak, expanding and improving so-called harm reduction programs that connect people with substance abuse treatment, recovery support and other health services.