Indiana Allows Short-Term Needle Exchange Program To Stem HIV Outbreak

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MARCH 10 - In this photo taken on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, syringes given out at the Minnesota AIDS Project needle exchange are displayed in Minneapolis, Minn. After years of running Minnesota... ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MARCH 10 - In this photo taken on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, syringes given out at the Minnesota AIDS Project needle exchange are displayed in Minneapolis, Minn. After years of running Minnesota's largest needle exchange, Brian Warden is beginning to see something new among the increasing numbers of suburban and rural heroin users coming to trade in used needles. "What strikes me about it is they don't seem to have had what's traditionally called the gateway effect," Warden said. (AP Photo/Minnesota Public Radio, Jeffrey Thompson) MORE LESS
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has authorized a short-term needle exchange program to help contain an outbreak of HIV in a county with 79 confirmed new infections since January.

Pence on Thursday declared a public health emergency in Scott County, about 30 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky. He ordered the state health department to set up a command center to coordinate HIV and substance abuse treatment and establish a mobile unit to enroll people in a state-run health program.

Indiana bars needle exchange programs, but Pence authorized a short-term exchange on the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health officials.

The state has launched a public awareness campaign to focus on drug treatment, infection prevention, safe sex, needle disposal and HIV testing and treatment.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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