Indiana public health officials defended Republican Gov. Mike Pence’s decision to override a state law and set up a needle exchange program to address a severe HIV outbreak.
Scott County in southeastern Indiana is at the center of the outbreak that began in late January and has resulted in 136 confirmed cases. Ordinarily Scott County only has about five HIV cases a year.
The cases are linked to injecting the painkiller Opana, which is normally taken orally.
Indiana started a short-term needle exchange program last month that officials have said would hopefully stem the outbreak. However, that hasn’t happened yet and officials have seen potential cases in another county.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence extended the program by 30 days earlier this week. So far the state has spent $2.1 million to fund the needle exchanges and counseling, said Indiana Public Health Commissioner Jerome Adams on a Friday call with reporters.
Pence’s response to the emergency comes despite his own misgivings about the program. The Republican governor is opposed to needle exchanges because they could encourage drug use by giving addicts clean needles. Indiana has a state law that prevents such programs, which Pence overrode to create the Scott County program.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that there is scientific evidence that they help to curb drug use.
“They are not associated with increases in drug use,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDs, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention on Friday.
Adams said needle exchanges are just one part of the solution and defended the governor’s position.
“The governor is not at all hesitant about addressing HIV and drug use in our state. He doesn’t believe that [needle exchanges are] an effective anti-drug policy,” said Public Health Commissioner Jerome Adams on the call.
“Needle exchange doesn’t work as anti-drug policy as long as it is not part of a comprehensive package with other services,” Adams added, saying services are needed to help with rehab treatment and raise awareness.
The state legislature is debating a bill right now on whether to legalize needle exchanges.
The CDC released an advisory Friday to help local officials across the nation on how to monitor and respond to any outbreaks of HIV. Meriman said this is one of the worst outbreaks of HIV due to drug use in the past few years.
