A study conducted by the CDC discovered that cases of hepatitis C have tripled in the Appalachia Region between 2006 to 2012. The study took statistics from Kentucky, Virginia, West Virgina, and Tennessee. Kentucky has the highest rate of hepatitis C in the country, with a rate of 4.1 for every 100,000 people.
The reason behind this hepatitis C outbreak is due to drug users injecting themselves with dirty needles. Dr. Jennifer Havens, an epidemiologist at the University of Kentucky’s Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, has been studying drug users in the region during this outbreak. Out of 503 drug users that she was tracking, 70 percent of them have tested positive for hepatitis C. In Indiana, an even bigger medical threat is poised to create more problems in the region.
Scott County, Indiana is currently going through an HIV outbreak among injection drug users. Only 200 miles separate the highest rate of hepatitis C and an outbreak of HIV that is one of the worst in decades. “One person could be Typhoid Mary of HIV,” said Dr. Jennifer Havens.
Government officials in the region are trying to determine what the best course of action will be. In Kentucky, a law was passed to allow a needle exchange program to be set up. Dr. Stephanie Mayfield Gibson, commissioner of the state’s Department of Public Health, set up the guidelines of this program. The individual counties in Kentucky will need to decide if they want to participate in the program. Rural counties do not have much interest, but the rural areas are where the hepatitis C outbreak is the strongest. The people in the rural areas are afraid that they will out themselves as drug users by participating in a needle exchange. To them, the health risks of contracting hepatitis C do not outweigh the public shame.
The brain of a drug user is only fixated on getting the drug in their system. They do not care about health risks. Patton Couch tested positive for hepatitis C and is one month sober. He talks about what he was thinking when he used a dirty needle on himself.
“All I cared about was how soon and how fast I could get it in. I hated myself, it was misery. But when you’re in the grips of it, the only way I thought I could escape it was one more time.”
As bad as this problem is, public officials believe that this hepatitis C outbreak could become worse.
What do you think can be done to curb the outbreak in the region?
[Image via Lexingtondefense.com]
Hepatitis C Outbreak In Appalachia Region, Will HIV Be Next? is an article from: The Inquisitr News
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