REGINA — A study says the Saskatchewan government's needle exchange program for injection drug users is helping to reduce the spread of blood-borne disease.

But the six-month review has also found that improvements are needed in cleanup and disposal of discarded needles.

The exchange program provides clean needles to reduce the sharing of used and possibly contaminated ones.

Dr. Moira McKinnon, the province's chief medical health officer, says the spread of HIV in Saskatchewan has been low compared to the rest of Canada.

But McKinnon says new infections have climbed recently and it's important the exchange program remain strong.

The provincial government says it will look for better ways to deal with cleanup and disposal of used needles, as well as better tracking of needles through methods such as registries.