Eight people visited the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department Wednesday afternoon to receive sterile syringes during the agency's first harm-reduction program hours, according to Kanawha-Charleston health officer Dr. Michael Brumage.
The health department held its harm-reduction program's "soft launch" Wednesday. The agency chose not to publicly announce the start of the program beforehand, to avoid news media attention that might have scared potential patients or made them uncomfortable. Of the eight who visited Wednesday for new needles, two requested additional testing, he said.
"We wanted to make sure people understood that this was a safe place before we made a public announcement," Brumage said. "We circulated this through the addicts themselves - we knew a few people who would get the word out, and we worked with recovery coaches who worked with other groups of addicts, as well as through the police, because they know groups of addicts, as well."
The Kanawha-Charleston model closely resembles the harm-reduction program adopted by Cabell-Huntington Health Department in September, which saw 15 addicts during its first day and has since seen marked growth - more than 95 people visited the Cabell health department for the program Wednesday, and the agency has had to extend its program hours to accommodate the growth, according to Elizabeth Adkins, the Cabell-Huntington Health Department's public information officer.
Brumage said he expects similar growth for the Kanawha program in the coming weeks.
"As people learn that we can be trusted and that we treat people well, we will see larger and larger numbers of people who show up," he said.
According to the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, 3,000 West Virginians have died from drug overdoses in the past five years, and 450 of those deaths can be attributed to heroin, an increasingly popular drug of choice among intravenous drug users.
Hepatitis B and C are viral infections that can cause chronic and acute liver damage. In West Virginia, 10.6 cases of hepatitis B per 100,000 people were reported in 2013, well above the national average of 0.9 cases per 100,000 people, according to the state Department of Health and Human Resources. Even as the national average has dropped, the rate has increased in West Virginia over the past four years, from 4.7 in 2010 to 6.1 in 2011 and 7.6 in 2012.
The rate of hepatitis C also is concerning - in 2013, 3.1 cases per 100,000 people were reported in West Virginia, compared to 0.7 cases per 100,000 people across the country.
In a May study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that hepatitis C cases in four Appalachian states - Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia - more than tripled between 2006 and 2012.
Needle exchange programs offer free sterile syringes and collect used syringes from injection-drug users to reduce the spread of blood-borne pathogens, including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Multiple studies have documented that the programs reduce the risk of HIV infection among injection-drug users and their partners.
Unlike Cabell, Kanawha County does not have grant funding that supports its harm-reduction program. It will rely on donations and volunteers to keep the program running, Brumage said. It offers education and screenings similar to Cabell's program, as well as addiction counselors, treatment referrals and hepatitis B vaccinations.
The next harm-reduction clinic, which is free and confidential, will be held at the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Reach Lydia Nuzum at lydia.nuzum@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @lydianuzum on Twitter.