Naharnet

U.S. State's HIV Outbreak Tops 100 Cases

More than 100 people in the central state of Indiana have tested positive for HIV in an outbreak linked to the sharing of intravenous needles, and officials said Friday they're trying to combat unfounded fears among drug users that they could be arrested if they take part in a needle-exchange program created to stem the spread of the virus.

The state's Joint Information Center said there had been 95 confirmed HIV cases and 11 preliminary positive cases tied to the outbreak as of Thursday. That's up from last week's 84 confirmed HIV cases and five preliminary positive cases.

All of those cases have been linked to needle-sharing among intravenous drug users, most of whom injected a liquefied form of the prescription painkiller Opana.

Indiana's largest-ever HIV outbreak has hit Scott County, a rural, economically-struggling area north of Louisville, Kentucky. Health officials say all of those infected either live in the county or have ties to it. In a typical year, that county would see only about five new HIV cases, but it's seen 20 times that number since December.

Republican Gov. Mike Pence declared a public health emergency in the county March 26 that temporarily waived the state's ban on needle-exchange programs, although solely for that county in hopes of stemming the virus' spread.

That program began last Saturday in Austin — a city of about 4,500 residents that's the epicenter of the outbreak, but as of Monday only four people had joined the needle-exchange. Those four had exchanged 300 used needles and received 168 new, clean ones in return.

Pence's emergency order, which runs for 30 days and can be extended in 30-day increments, directed state health officials to open the command center in Austin to coordinate HIV and substance-abuse treatment and bring in a mobile unit to enroll people in a state-run health program to get HIV testing and treatment.

Austin Mayor Douglas Campbell said Friday that while the needle-exchange program had not yet been embraced by local drug users, officials had expected it would face a slow start.

Source: Associated Press


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