INFECTION FROM USED NEEDLES A WORRY

The number of hypodermic needles found by the Downtown Kelowna Patrol would
likely balloon were it not for the needle exchange service provided by
Outreach Health Services, which collected some 45,000 of them last year.

Street Nurse Lee Fenton says their return rate is over 100 per cent because
the program only gave out 42,000 needles last year.

The program, hosted by the Central Okanagan Boys' and Girls' Club, was
begun in 1993 to stem the spread of blood-borne diseases but it also serves
to properly dispose of needles. "Ideally this is a one-for-one exchange but
the reality is that IV drug users are going to buy some of their needles
from pharmacies on weekends or when we are closed," he says.

Fenton says inevitably people are shocked at the number of needles
collected; 2000 was the second time in three years it topped the 40,000
plateau.

Fenton admits he was even a little surprised, although now he knows
Kamloops has four to five times that number.

"I think it's because here you don't see junkies fixing in the
alleyways-although occasionally now you do," he says.

Outreach Health is considering the use of 24-hour drop boxes to help
collect even more needles. The drop boxes would also help ensure that
needles are not tossed into trash cans putting whoever changes the bags at
risk.

"It is something this community needs to look at as an option to address
the problem of discarded needles in public places."

The needles are stored in special containers then shipped to Washington
state to be incinerated.

The clinic is more than a medical trading post, however. It is also an
opportunity to ensure the clients are healthy through hepatitis A and B
immunizations and testing for HIV and tuberculosis.

Fenton says the infection rate for hepatitis C, an incurable disease
affecting the liver, is between 80 and 90 per cent for IV drug users.

The clinic is also a point of contact for help.

"It's a way for keeping track of everyone and to help them make some
healthy decisions," he said.

"If someone is thinking about quitting they can."