How restrictions on syringe programs led to a severe HIV outbreak in West Virginia
The state had hope with programs providing free, sterile syringes, but when those were shuttered one county saw as many infections as in New York City
Christine Teague works to find clients “under the bridge and by the dumpster”. Typically, they are people who inject drugs. Often, they are unhoused. All have HIV.
Once she finds them, Teague, who is the director of the Ryan White HIV program in Charleston, the state capital of West Virginia, might deliver the results of an HIV test, or the medication to reduce a patient’s viral load. What she cannot provide them with, however, is a powerful tool to prevent the spread of HIV: sterile syringes.
