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. 2022 Jan 14;71(2):66-68.
doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7102a4.

Notes from the Field: HIV Outbreak During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Persons Who Inject Drugs - Kanawha County, West Virginia, 2019-2021

Rebecca B Hershow, Suzanne Wilson, Robert A Bonacci, Molly Deutsch-Feldman, Olivia O Russell, Sherri Young, Shannon McBee, Erica Thomasson, Shawn Balleydier, Miracle Boltz, Vicki Hogan, Amy Atkins, Nancy Worthington, Robert McDonald, Monica Adams, Anne Moorman, Danae Bixler, Stephen Kowalewski, Melinda Salmon, R Paul McClung, Alexandra M Oster, Kathryn G Curran

Notes from the Field: HIV Outbreak During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Persons Who Inject Drugs - Kanawha County, West Virginia, 2019-2021

Rebecca B Hershow et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. .

Abstract

During October 2019, the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health (WVBPH) noted that an increasing number of persons who inject drugs (PWID) in Kanawha County received a diagnosis of HIV. The number of HIV diagnoses among PWID increased from less than five annually during 2016-2018 to 11 during January-October 2019 (Figure). Kanawha County (with an approximate population of 180,000*) has high rates of opioid use disorder and overdose deaths, which have been increasing since 2016,† and the county is located near Cabell County, which experienced an HIV outbreak among PWID during 2018-2019 (1,2). In response to the increase in HIV diagnoses among PWID in 2019, WVBPH released a Health Advisory§; and WVBPH and Kanawha-Charleston Health Department (KCHD) convened an HIV task force, conducted care coordination meetings, received CDC remote assistance to support response activities, and expanded HIV testing and outreach.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Figures

FIGURE
FIGURE
Diagnoses of HIV infection, by injection drug use category — Kanawha County, West Virginia, January 2016–October 2021
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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