Gov. Mike Pence said at a news conference Wednesday he is preparing to declare a public health emergency in Scott County, Ind., according to an ?Associated Press report.
Scott County is the epicenter of an HIV outbreak tied to intravenous drug use. Health officials say 72 cases of HIV have been confirmed in Southern Indiana and all are tied to Scott County.
According to the Associated Press report, Pence did not specify whether the executive order he plans to issue will allow a needle-exchange program.
State Health Commissioner Jerome Adams, M.D., M.P.H. said a majority of the cases are linked through injection drug abuse by the prescription drug Opana, which is an opioid painkiller that contains ?oxymorphone.
“It is very concerning to me that most of the individuals who have tested HIV-positive have only recently contracted the virus,” Adams said in a press release. “Because prescription drug abuse is at the heart of this outbreak, we are not only working to identify, contact and test individuals who may have been exposed but also to connect community members to resources for substance abuse treatment and ?recovery.”
Hannah Alani
