Health district focuses on two new threats

MOSES LAKE — Officials with the Grant County Health District have found themselves facing two problems — opioid addictions and rising rates of syphilis — that were, until recently, “under the radar,” according to County Health Officer Alexander Brzezny.

And they are both somewhat connected, Brzezny adds, given that 43 percent of those testing positive for a sexually transmitted disease at a recent screening in the Larsen community also admitted to recent drug use.

“The health district recognizes this as a priority, and we have difficulties with reaching everyone at risk,” Brzezny said.

On average, about 600 people die each year in Washington state from opioid abuse and misuse, according to state statistics. At 5.7 per 100,000 residents, Grant County’s rate of deaths from opioid abuse — anything from heroin to prescription oxycodone — is significantly lower than the state average, according to state Department of Health figures.

However, Brzezny said it was difficult to separate abuse of legal and illegal opiates, and in any case, few who took these drugs did so with the intention of dying.

“Our biggest motive now is to reduce accidental overdoses,” he said.

The Grant County Board of Health has directed the district to increase monitoring of opioid prescriptions, set up a needle exchange “with additional facets” such as treatment and counseling, and assist people who might be more susceptible to abuse in the first place.

In the case of syphilis, the number of infections in Grant County over the last few years are comparable to the much larger counties of the West Side. Syphilis, which had nearly disappeared in the mid-1990s, has made a stunning resurgence both nationally and in Washington, with more than 450 cases statewide — nine of them in Grant county — in 2015.

“This was a disease that was not on our radar,” Brzezny said. “We were not looking for it, and it’s difficult to identify.”

But that has changed, Brzezny said, with the health district actively reaching out to individuals and communities at risk.

Toward that end, the district has scheduled a free and confidential screening for sexually transmitted diseases on Thursday, Dec. 1, at Grant County Fire District 5 in the Larsen community from 3-6 p.m.

Brzezny said Grant County is at risk for both drug use and sexually transmitted diseases for many reasons — including a very young and very mobile workforce well connected to the outside world.

“We’re young, less educated, poor, and growing. That puts us at risk for lots of things,” he said.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com