Pennsylvania County Supports Needle Exchange

On Wednesday, the Allegheny County Board of Health drafted a regulation to continue a privately funded needle exchange program operated by Prevention Point Pittsburgh. The four-year-old exchange provides clean syringes and needles to IV drug users in a bid to control the spread of HIV and hepatitis C. Renee Cox, PPP's executive director, said the board's action is a step toward "making us a permanent program."

Under the proposed regulation, the Health Department would devise operating procedures for needle exchanges in municipalities, and the health board "shall have the sole authority to approve" them. It would prohibit anyone who is not affiliated with a sanctioned exchange from providing drug users with syringes without a doctor's prescription. Following a public comment period, the board is expected to vote on the regulation at its July meeting.

At the board meeting, County Health Director Dr. Bruce Dixon noted that PPP's program would likely need to find a new site by the fall because the Health Department needs its space at its Oakland headquarters. Cox told the board that PPP has been given a van from a Philadelphia needle exchange program and is renovating it for use this summer. Cox hopes the van can enhance outreach to African-American injectors and reach more communities.

From April 2002 to the end of 2005, PPP had registered around 3,200 clients, more than a third of whom were ages 18-25. Nine out of 10 were white. Noting that research indicates black IV drug users are five times more likely to become HIV-infected, Cox said, "It is one of our goals to connect with that population in the future."

Nearly 650 PPP clients have been referred to drug treatment. While none of the 210 people tested was HIV-positive, 101 out of 209 (48 percent) were hepatitis C-positive, said Cox.

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