Indiana Governor Mike Pence (Photo : Twitter)
An outbreak has reached epidemic proportions, according to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence pertaining to the spread of HIV linked to intravenous drug use in a rural southern county, hence the declaration of public-health emergency.
Pence authorized Scott County to institute a "targeted, short-term needle-exchange program" in an executive order to contain the outbreak.
In an interview with Wall Street Journal, Pence said, "I do not support needle exchange program as an antidrug policy". However, he said a 30-day exception was warranted in the Scott County after the urging of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are now 79 confirmed cases of HIV since the start of the year, according to Indiana State Department of Health. The reported cases was said to be originating from Scott County; the authorities said that the county has fewer than five cases of HIV in a year, but this year is unlike any other.
Most of the recorded cases are associated with the abuse of painkiller Opana-which contains the powerful opioid oxymorphone, Washington Post reported. The drug is ground up and injected, and users share needles sometimes which is how HIV is transmitted to them.
Scott County's public health nurse Brittany Combs said that Opana is no longer prescribed by most physicians in the county for the reason that many people abuse it.
Indiana deputy health commissioner Jennifer Walthall said that the number of HIV infected could exceed 100. "We know that the culture of IV drug abuse is communal use. All it really take is one HIV positive user," she said.
The federal and state health officials said that they are currently investigating the main source of the outbreak and that they are trying to evaluate how far the infection might have spread. According to Pence, some arrests have already been made in connection with the outbreak,
The emergency order will be setting up and incident command center so that authorities can coordinate HIV and substance-abuse treatment. The state and local health, law-enforcement and emergency-response agencies are expected to cooperate and assist in the disaster response against HIV.
