EDITOR’S NOTE — “Rock the Difference for Heroin Awareness” is a community event being held at the Shelby County Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 7. This is one in a series of stories that will look into heroin use in Sidney and Shelby County leading up to the event. More information can be found on the event’s Facebook page, or by calling 937-622-8859. There will also be a forum entitled Heroin: Threatening Our Families, Wednesday, May 11, 7 to 8 p.m., in the Holy Angels School cafeteria, 120 E. Water St., Sidney. For more information about the forum call 937-492-4364.
SIDNEY — An unseen danger of heroin use is disease.
Out of the about 160 inmates at the Shelby County Jail, 95 percent of them have some sort of hepatitis. Another five percent of prisoners have the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), according to Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart.
These diseases are primarily shared with others through the sharing of needles used for injecting heroin, but they can also be spread through other bodily fluids.
HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. Over time, HIV can destroy so many of these cells that the body can’t fight off infections and disease, and HIV turns into AIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While HIV can now be controlled with proper medical care, it takes a tole on the body.
Hepatitis comes in many forms. Hep-C is the most common form among needle sharers. It causes liver infection, and for some people, it is a short-term illness but for 70 to 85 percent of people who become infected, it becomes a long-term, chronic infection, according to the CDC. Chronic Hepatitis C is a serious disease than can result in long-term health problems, even death. The majority of infected persons might not be aware of their infection because they are not clinically ill.
The sharing and reusing of needles by heroin users presents threats of these diseases to the users, but also to the law enforcement policing the use, and even the general public.
Sidney Police Chief Will Balling told the Sidney Daily News in a recent interview, needles and these diseases are a big threat to the officers. “(The threat) does give me pause. But we are teaching the officers how to take care of themselves out there on the street,” he said. They could be patting someone down, get stuck by a needle and contract something.
There is also the threat to the general public in the fact users leave their needles in places like vending machines and paper towel holders so they can come back and use them later.
“There have been reports of this. But needles being found in places are more common than what’s reported,” Balling said.
In October of 2015, The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) initiated an investigation in Shelby County concerning HIV and viral hepatitis among drug users.
The ODH initiated the investigation because during a four-week time span, four new HIV-positive cases were identified after a Shelby County resident who was incarcerated in the state penitentiary was also found to have the disease.
“Three people showed up in different locations in Shelby County, a rural area, and that was enough to prompt concern,” Melanie Amato, a spokeswoman for the ODH, told the Sidney Daily News at the time.
The county usually only has one new HIV case a year, according to minutes from a recent meeting to discuss a blood-bourne infectious disease program at the Sidney-Shelby County Health Department (SSCHD).
At the April meeting of the SSCHD community leaders were in attendance to hear the findings of the investigation and discuss what should be done about it.
Cases Identified in Shelby County: Positive Case 2: Female, named 40 partners needle sharing and sex for drugs or money at the Anna Truck Stop; Positive Case 3: Female (Pregnant) named 40 partners needle sharing and sex for drugs or money. She was very concerned about her “boyfriend” who had some symptoms; Positive Case 4 (Oct. 2, 2015): Male in county jail. Named multiple needle sharing partners and sex partners.
Of the four positive individuals two are in treatment (one of those is in prison) and two are not seeking treatment. As of April 18, 2016 there have been no newly diagnosed cases related to this outbreak.
Figures about a a needle exchange program and a blood-bourne pathogens program presented at the meeting were from a pilot program in Dayton. The needle exchange program costs $4,000 to $12,000 per individual annually. Treating one individual for HIV will cost $253,000 to $402,000 annually. Treating one individual for Hepatitis C will cost $64,000 to $205,000 annually.
They would also offer services like referrals for substance abuse and treatment, referrals for health/mental health screenings and social services, condom distribution to prevent the spread of HIV and other STD’s, assistance with medicaid sign-up, free HIV/AIDS testing and education, free pregnancy tests, and help with gambling and other addictions.
Since 1980 there have been approximately 200 needle exchange programs in the United States. In Ohio there are five clinics: Dayton, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Scioto County (Portsmouth).
The meeting ended with a general agreement to act on a blood-bourne pathogens program for Shelby County. The matter was taken to the Shelby County Board of Health and no action has been taken yet on the program.
