INDIANAPOLIS – The state may launch an emergency needle-exchange program to respond to a growing HIV crisis in southeast Indiana, the public health commissioner said in an interview.
Dr. Jerome Adams is meeting with officials in Scott County Wednesday to discuss details of a temporary program and whether local leaders are ready to implement it to slow the fast-spreading virus that causes AIDS.
“The governor is considering a needle-exchange program,” Adams said Wednesday morning.
As of Wednesday, there are 72 confirmed cases, six more with preliminary positive results, and 75 to 100 people to be tested.
Adams, a medical doctor, said Gov. Mike Pence opposes a total lifting of the state's ban on needle-exchange programs, which provide clean needles to intravenous drug users.
But Pence may consider a temporary, targeted program triggered by the current crisis, Adams said.
Scott County has 55 confirmed cases of HIV reported since December, all of which are linked to intravenous drug users sharing contaminated needles. The numbers are expected to triple.
Adams said needle exchanges endorsed by the American Medical Association and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have slowed the spread of HIV in other communities.
The most effective programs, he said, are embraced by the community and key stakeholders including doctors and police.
“The most appropriate intervention is the one that’s going to work in that area,” he said. “It’s not going to work if it’s not accepted by the people down there.”
Health officials and law enforcement in Scott County have publicly pleaded for the state to allow them to implement a needle-exchange program, as the number of HIV cases have rapidly increased. Health officials said the outbreak is the largest in state history.
Adams said Pence is expected to issue an executive order Wednesday or Thursday that will direct more resources to Scott County.