Indiana is facing an increasing number of residents with HIV.
An outbreak in Scott County that started in 2014 led to nearly 200 Hoosiers contracting HIV, and a report from this week shows the number of Hoosiers in their 20s with HIV rose by nearly 40 percent between 2010 and 2014.
Those numbers are tied to intravenous drug use, particularly through drug abuse of the prescription drug, Opana.
Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention and the Indiana University School of Public Health, Dr. Carrie Lawrence characterized the outbreak as “a storm brewing” in Scott County,
“It was similar to a national disaster, it just came on, and once it got to the point where it was so big, a lot of damage has occurred. And so, I think we did the best we could with our response, having to get in national partners as well as our Indiana State Department of Health did a tremendous job trying to address the outbreak,” she says.
The state is assisting affected counties by allowing local communities to create needle exchange programs. Monroe County’s syringe exchange program opened this past Sunday. Lead Health Educator and Program Coordinator, Syringe Exchange Program for the Monroe County Health Department, Kathy Hewett says 25 people have used the program in their first week. The health department gave away 900 to 1,000 needles and got 600 back. However, there are still many questions about how long the program could last.
“We have to apply every year,” Hewett says. “So there’s still questions about that. Do we have to prove we still have the epidemic going? Is there still a need for it? If numbers drop, will programs still be approved? That’s a question for our state representatives as well,” she says.
Beyond needle exchanges, our experts agreed that in the past, there has been more reactive action, but they advocate for more preventative measures. Greg May, Grants and Data Manager at Centerstone, says the earlier we can begin educating children about substance abuse and risks, the better.
“It’s best to start prevention activities before someone has been offered drugs. There’s plenty of research currently that shows people are using drugs at the age of thirteen. Thirteen is young, but if you’re being offered drugs at 13n , maybe prevention should start at 10 or 11," he says.
Our guests:
Kathy Hewett, Lead Health Educator and Program Coordinator, Syringe Exchange Program for the Monroe County Health Department
Dr. Carrie Lawrence, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention and the Indiana University School of Public Health
Greg May, Grants and Data Manager, Centerstone
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