Calm down and read this carefully.
India Faced
with a growing HIV outbreak tied to intravenous drug use, Indiana Gov.
Mike Pence said Wednesday he's considering a needle-exchange program as
part of a public health emergency he's preparing to declare in a county
that's at the epicenter of the cases.
Pence, a
Republican, said he opposes needle exchanges as part of drug-control
policy but is listening to health officials to determine the best way to
stop the outbreak in Scott County in southern Indiana. Health officials
say 72 cases of HIV have been confirmed in southern Indiana and seven
other people have preliminary positive HIV infections. All of those
infected either live in Scott County or have ties to the county.
Pence,
who plans to issue an executive order Thursday morning outlining a
range of state actions, noted that Scott County typically sees five HIV
cases each year.
"This is a
public health emergency and I'm listening to my health department, I'm
listening to the Centers for Disease Control and I'll make my decision
based on the best science and the best way we can stop this virus and
stop this outbreak in its tracks," Pence said after meeting with local
officials in Scottsburg, the county's seat.
Indiana's
confirmed HIV cases have risen from 26 a month ago when state officials
announced the outbreak to 72 now. IV drug use has been determined as
the mode of infection in nearly all of the cases, said state
epidemiologist Pam Pontones.
Needle-exchange
programs allow people to turn in used hypodermic needles and get clean
ones in an effort to keep diseases such as HIV and hepatitis from
spreading. Such programs are illegal in Indiana, but a measure being
debated in the Legislature would allow them on a limited basis.
The number of HIV cases is
expected to rise. Officials are trying to contact as many as 100 people
tied to those with confirmed infections of the virus that causes AIDS.
Indiana
has launched an awareness campaign that includes billboards and social
media. State health commissioner Dr. Jerome Adams said a mobile unit
will be sent to Scott County with resources to help combat the outbreak.
Pontones
said state health officials and staff from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention who arrived in the county about 30 miles north of
Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday agree that the outbreak "is an
indicator of a larger problem," which is rampant IV drug use in the
economically depressed region.
"With
the amount of drug use that's happening and the intravenous
needle-sharing that's going on, if someone who's highly infectious
becomes part of that sharing network, that infection can transmit very
rapidly," Pontones said.
She
said the vast majority of the people who've become infected during the
outbreak shared a syringe with someone else while injecting a liquid
form of the prescription painkiller Opana.
Republican Rep. Ed Clere of New
Albany, who proposed the needle distribution and collection program
Wednesday at the Statehouse, said a House panel considered similar
legislation last year, but it didn't receive a hearing in the Senate.
"Unfortunately
we're back here, not just with needle exchange as a hypothetical
theory, but with a real situation where a needle exchange (program)
could make a difference," he said.
The
program would require participating agencies to register with state and
local health departments and provide information on treatment for drug
addiction.
Dr. Jennifer
Walthall, deputy state health commissioner, told lawmakers that despite
Pence's opposition to a needle-exchange program, the department must
look at every option.
"We have never encountered this type of situation before and we need to consider it differently," Walthall said.
No comments:
Post a Comment