The Monroe County Health Department has taken the first step in implementing a syringe exchange program by declaring a public emergency due to an epidemic of new hepatitis C cases primarily contracted through injection drug use.
Following the HIV outbreak in Scott County, the Indiana General Assembly legalized programs that allow drug users to access clean needles in exchange for used sharps. The Indiana State Department of Health linked the 170 new cases of HIV in Scott County, as well as a spike in hepatitis C cases, to injection drug use.
From 2009 to 2014, hepatitis C cases in Monroe County have increased 83 percent, according to data from the Indiana State Department of Health. Heroin poisonings resulting in trips to IU Health Bloomington Hospital have also increased by more than 50 percent every year for the past three years, according to hospital data.
“The data says that hepatitis C cases are increasing and are continuing to increase,” said Penny Caudill, administrator at the Monroe County Health Department. “We’re not seeing indicators that is stabilizing or reducing at this time.”
Before a local health department can move forward to establish a needle exchange, the county health department must declare an epidemic of hepatitis C or HIV to the legislative body of the county. An epidemic, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, refers to a sudden or unexpected increase in cases of a disease that would not normally be expected in the population of that area.
© 2024 HeraldTimesOnline, Bloomington, IN