Over 2 dozen Southeast Indiana HIV cases linked to needle-sharing
The State Health Department is tracking over two dozen new cases of HIV in Southeastern Indiana that have occurred since December.
According to officials, there have been 26 confirmed and four preliminary HIV positive cases since mid-December. The case have been found in Clark, Jackson, Perry, Scott, and Washington counties.
The majority of cases are linked to injection drug abuse, specifically the Schedule II prescription drug, Opana. A small number of cases is linked to sexual transmission.
Opana is a powerful opioid painkiller containing oxymorphone and is more potent, per milligram, than Oxycontin.
According to the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department narcotics officer, the drug is abused in Dubois County and abusers typically crush the pills and inject it. He also pointed out that the outbreak may be related to a group of individuals that shared needles. “Individuals addicted to meth or opiates like opana get together to do these drugs,” he explained.
State health officials are working closely with local health departments, health care providers and others to contain the spread of HIV in southeastern Indiana. Disease intervention specialists are in the area, interviewing each newly identified HIV positive individual to obtain information about needle sharing and sex partners, as well as recommending care coordination services, medical care and HIV prevention information.
“It’s very concerning to me that most of the individuals who have tested HIV positive have only recently contracted the virus,” State Health Commissioner Jerome Adams, M.D., M.P.H. 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.”
State health officials recommend that all Hoosiers know their HIV status through testing at a health care facility.
Hoosiers in the southeastern portion of the state, especially individuals who have engaged in high-risk behavior such as needle sharing and unprotected sex, are advised to get tested and then re-tested after about two to three months because HIV can take up to three months to appear in a person’s system.
To help reduce risk of HIV infection, avoid:
injection drug use;
sharing or re-using needles;
engaging in unprotected sex; and,
engaging in sex with commercial sex workers.
For HIV testing locations and information about HIV Care Coordination, individuals are encouraged to call the ISDH HIV Services Hotline at (866) 588-4948.
The Dubois County Substance Abuse Council maintains a database of drug treatment facilities on the group’s website.
Individuals seeking help with substance abuse can call the national 24-hour addiction hotline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
This hotline provides confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental health and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations. Callers can also order free publications and other information.
