West Virginia health experts worry new law will ignite 'powder kegs' amid HIV outbreak

West Virginia is facing its second large HIV outbreak in two years, and the federal government is in Charleston to help. But there’s a key difference between the tools that are available now, and the ones the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could use during Cabell County’s 2019 outbreak: new restrictions from both the capital city and the state on programs that distribute sterile syringes.

Experts, including those at the CDC, agree that these sort of harm reduction programs are one of the most effective ways to prevent the rapid transmission of disease among people who inject drugs.

But the recent changes are making it difficult to most effectively respond to the outbreak in Charleston.

“We’ve kind of got our hands tied behind our back because of the new laws,” said Christine Teague, program director for the Ryan White HIV prevention program at Charleston Area Medical Center.

Read more: https://mountainstatespotlight.org/2021/06/09/wv-law-harm-reduction-hiv-outbreak/