Following Spike in Hepatitis C Cases, Kentucky Considers Expanding Screenings for Virus

Officials at the state and local levels are in discussions about offering hepatitis C testing at all Kentucky county health departments.

Some local offices offered the tests last year as part of a pilot project, when Kentucky began to see a spike in hepatitis C cases related to intravenous drug use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in May that Kentucky’s rate of hepatitis C is seven times higher than the national average.

Deputy Commissioner Kraig Humbaugh, with the Kentucky Department of Public Health, says increased screening opportunities would be a way for health and addiction experts to reach out to those who need help.

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Comment | Benefits of needle exchange programs

Hospitalizations and deaths due to heroin overdoses are on the rise in Kentucky.

According to the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, the number of Kentuckians hospitalized for heroin overdoses more than doubled from 2011 to 2012. In addition, deaths from heroin overdoses among Kentucky residents have skyrocketed from 12 in 2008 to 215 in 2013. Kentucky also has some of the highest rates of drug overdoses and acute hepatitis C infection in the nation.

This year, the General Assembly enacted and Gov. Beshear signed into law permissive legislation that enables local jurisdictions to establish needle exchange programs (NEP), also known as “harm reduction programs.” To some, a needle exchange may sound like a program that helps intravenous drug users feed their habit. To the contrary, the intent of an NEP is to protect public health and create a path for heroin users to get treatment while preventing the spread of diseases through the sharing of needles.

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Editorial | Needle exchanges

The alarming epidemic of HIV in Southern Indiana tied to intravenous drug abuse underscores the wisdom of Kentucky lawmakers who included an option for sterile needle exchanges in the comprehensive heroin bill they passed this session.

In Indiana, the surge of HIV cases among 80 people linked to tiny Scott County — population 24,000 — has attracted national headlines and caused Gov. Mike Pence, who has opposed needle exchanges, to reverse course.

Kentucky’s heroin bill was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Steve Beshear and could result in many saved lives if communities take advantage of the option to offer needle exchanges through local health departments.

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Kentucky to Allow Local Needle Exchanges

In a last-minute compromise, Kentucky lawmakers took a strong, collective step toward combating the heroin epidemic that kills hundreds each year and puts countless others in danger.  The Kentucky House of Representatives voted 100-0 in favor of Senate Bill 216, while the Senate voted 34-4 in favor.

The most debated part of the bill was approval of local needle exchanges, which would be funded through tax dollars. Opponents in the Senate, who voted after the House unanimously approved the bill, said needle exchanges would further enable heroin users and make the overall problem worse. Supporters said needle exchanges will keep used needles out of public areas, and lessen the risk of infection to those who do not use drugs. They also pointed to studies that claim needle exchanges curb the spread of diseases like Hepatitis C and AIDS.

SB 216 also calls for tougher punishment for convicted large-scale traffickers. They are dealers carrying at least 60 grams of heroin. They would have to serve at least half their sentences before any possibility of parole.

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Legislature making progress against heroin plague

"The bill also allows local communities to choose to establish needle exchanges"

During the next few weeks, members of the Kentucky House and Senate will try to hammer out an agreement on a bill to address growing heroin abuse in Kentucky. Each chamber has passed its own measure.

The version that emerges will reflect whether legislators see the heroin epidemic as a criminal problem or a public health crisis, the term used by House Judiciary Committee chairman John Tilley, sponsor of the House bill.

Tilley, D-Hopkinsville, made an eloquent, informed and impassioned case that unless it's treated as a public health crisis, "we'll be digging ourselves out of this until we're all dead and gone."

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Ky. heroin bills raise hope, face skepticism

As the Kentucky General Assembly gears up for a shortened session and to tackle heroin legislation, many anti-heroin activists say proposed bills don't go far enough. 

One of the leading bills proposed to combat Kentucky's heroin epidemic gives an addict a better chance at receiving treatment if he is arrested than if he tries to check into a rehab clinic.

Another of the multiple proposals is expected to include a provision that would allow needle exchanges, an approach favored by public health officials trying to ward off the spread of hepatitis or HIV, but abhorred by conservatives not willing to appear soft on crime.

A third ups the criminal penalties for dealing heroin and other opiates without increasing any funding for treatment for addicts.

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