Full Article by Julia Lurie | Mother Jones
In a Mother Jones article, “HIV Is Spreading in West Virginia. The Solution Is in Short Supply,” journalist Julia Lurie highlights a growing public health crisis in Charleston, West Virginia — and the warnings are stark.
As HIV cases surge in nearby Cabell County, fueled by injection drug use and the opioid epidemic, experts are sounding the alarm that Charleston could be next. Dr. Judith Feinberg of West Virginia University School of Medicine calls the situation “the looming disaster that we were all afraid of.”
While Huntington has ramped up HIV testing and continues to operate a syringe service program (SSP), Charleston shut down its county-run needle exchange in 2018. Since then, experts say, access to both clean syringes and HIV testing has plummeted, leaving the community dangerously vulnerable.
HIV spreads quickly in rural areas through tight clusters of people who share syringes. Without a strong harm reduction program, Charleston is now “sitting on a powder keg,” says Dr. Michael Brumage, former head of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. “But this year, the fuse is lit,” he tells Mother Jones.
A recent study from Johns Hopkins researchers confirms what many feared: the closure of Charleston’s syringe exchange has led to widespread needle sharing. One person interviewed describes the scene: “You’ve got four or five people sharing a needle, and then they’ll throw it down on the ground and maybe somebody else comes along and they pick it up. One needle will probably do 15 people.”
Despite claims by some local officials that HIV is not currently a major issue, testing levels in Charleston are far below Huntington’s — making it difficult to even know the true scope of the problem.
At SOAR WV, we believe this reporting highlights why grassroots harm reduction efforts are so vital, especially in Charleston. As public health leaders have emphasized, syringe service programs don’t “enable” drug use — they save lives, prevent disease, and serve as a bridge to recovery.
We encourage everyone to read this crucial reporting:
👉 Read the full article: HIV Is Spreading in West Virginia. The Solution Is in Short Supply (Mother Jones)
The time to act is now.
