Wednesday, Jul. 02, 2008

Stanislaus civil grand jury: Needle exchange could curb HIV, hepatitis C

Stanislaus County should create a needle exchange program to reverse a trend of rising hepatitis C infections, the civil grand jury recommended Monday.

The county is on pace to record 620 new hepatitis C cases this year, up from 519 in 2007, according to the grand jury report.

The grand jury advised the county that a needle exchange program could decrease the number of hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus infections while diminishing the threat to public employees who come in contact with discarded syringes.

Hepatitis C is a debilitating liver disease spread through contact with an infected person's blood.

Stanislaus County formed a committee to study hepatitis C in 2002. In 2006, the county's police chiefs wrote a letter saying "there may be merit in a needle exchange program."

"Both the public health and law enforcement approaches can coexist with the common goal of harm reduction in Stanislaus County ... by providing new syringes to injection drug users in exchange for dirty syringes," the grand jury wrote.

The grand jury suggested Stanislaus County follow the guidelines of a 2006 state law that recommends needle exchange programs as a public health benefit.

The report also points to a needle exchange program in Fresno that is administered through private contributions.

The hepatitis C report was one of two investigations the grand jury published Monday. The other focused on the county's correctional facilities.

It urged the county to:

Demolish the county's downtown jail and the honor farm, both of which are in poor condition and have outdated buildings

Increase staffing at the honor farm

Develop more programs for young people at the juvenile detention center

Consider separating mentally unstable inmates at the county's Public Safety Center on East Hackett Road

Volunteers make up the panel that is charged with investigating government agencies each year. They published six reports this year.

Bee staff writer Adam Ashton can be reached at aashton@modbee.com or 578-2366.