CDC inquiry sought on HIV outbreak in West Virginia's largest county - Fox News

The West Virginia Democrat asked for the inquiry on behalf of the Kanawha County Commission two months after a CDC official warned that the county's outbreak was " the most concerning in the United States.".

As recently as 2014, only 12.5% of HIV cases in West Virginia were the result of intravenous drug use.

The number grew to 15 in 2019 and at least 35 last year, said Shannon McBee, a state epidemiologist.

Counties in other states with populations similar to Kanawha had an average of less than one HIV diagnosis among people who inject drugs, Daskalakis said

The surge, clustered primarily around the capital of Charleston and the city of Huntington, is being attributed at least in part to the cancellation in 2018 of a needle exchange program that offered clean syringes to injection drug users not able to quit the habit altogether

Needle exchange programs are included in the CDC’s recommendations for controlling disease outbreaks among intravenous drug users

Such programs exist in dozens of states, but they are not without their critics, including in West Virginia, who say they don’t do enough to prevent or stop drug abuse

With less than a week left in the regular session, the state Legislature is considering a bill to regulate needle exchange providers

SOAR co-founder Sarah Stone has said the legislation could shut down her group's needle exchange program

Citing the pending state bill, the Charleston City Council on Monday night postponed voting on a proposed needle exchange ordinance until April 19