indiana Gov. extends rural needle exchange to battle HIV outbreak

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Monday extended a needle-exchange program in a rural, southern Indiana county to help combat an HIV outbreak, even though he generally opposes such programs.

Pence approved the 30-day extension of a March 26 executive order that declared a public-health emergency in Scott County, about 30 miles north of Louisville, Ky. Republican Pence opposes such programs as part of a statewide anti-drug policy but said the efforts to fight the outbreak must continue.

“While we’ve made progress in identifying and treating those affected by this heartbreaking epidemic, the public-health emergency continues and so must our efforts to fight it,” Pence said in a statement Monday.

Scott County, which has a population of about 23,700, normally would see about five new HIV cases in a typical year. The Indiana State Department of Health officials reported Friday that there now are 120 confirmed HIV cases and 10 preliminary positive cases tied to the county — about one confirmed case for every 200 people living there. The cases all have been linked to needle-sharing among intravenous drug users.