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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Ghana: Hepatitis C More Prevalent Than HIV/AIDS or Ebola Yet Lacks Equal Attention

Loyola’s HepNet study reveals high frequency of active infection and multiple risk factors in Ghana

Newswise — More than 180 million people in the world have hepatitis C, compared with the 34 million with HIV/AIDS and the roughly 30,000 who have had Ebola. Yet very little is heard about the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the way of awareness campaigns, research funding or celebrity fundraisers.

One of the global regions highly affected by hepatitis C is West Africa. In developed countries, hepatitis C, a blood-borne disease, is transmitted through intravenous (IV) drug use. “In West Africa, we believe that there are many transmission modes and they are not through IV drug use, but through cultural and every day practices,” says Jennifer Layden, MD, PhD principal investigator on a study recently published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. “In this study, tribal scarring, home birthing and traditional as opposed to hospital-based circumcision procedures, were associated with hepatitis C infection in Ghana.”

The study was conducted by HepNet, an international multidisciplinary group of physicians and scientists. “The other important finding was that a high percentage of individuals who tested positive for HCV had evidence of active infection,” says Layden. “This illustrates the need for treatment.”

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