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Indiana State Health Commissioner Jerome Adams, M.D., M.P.H. reports that most of the cases have been traced to injecting drugs, specifically Opana, a prescription opioid painkiller that includes oxymorphone as an ingredient.
In a recent press release, Adams wrote, "It is very concerning to me that most of the individuals who have tested HIV-positive have only recently contracted the virus. 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."
Sexual contact has been linked to a small number of positive cases.
In a concentrated effort to suppress the outbreak and decrease the number of individuals who contract HIV, the Indiana State Department of Health has been working diligently. In the southeastern region of the state, specialists have conducted interviews with those individuals newly infected to determine who they may have been in contact with and may be at risk. Additionally, they have offered preventative and medical care to those infected with the virus. Private testing services also help create awareness, and provide counseling.
First seen in the United States in the 1980s, HIV can lead to AIDS. HIV can only be transferred through specific bodily fluids. Unprotected sexual contact and sharing needles to inject drugs are the two primary modes of transmission. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 2010, 8 percent of those newly infected with the virus had obtained the disease after sharing dirty needles.
Currently, over 1.2 million individuals living in the United States have HIV. Approximately 14 percent of them are not aware they are infected. In 2012 alone, there were 47,989 newly diagnosed cases of HIV in the United States.
The Co-director for the Rural Center for AIDS/ STD Prevention and assistant professor of applied health sciences at Indiana University, Dr. Beth Meyerson reports that a drug user's limited accessibility to clean needles' area a primary cause for the disease's spread in Indiana.
Meyerson stated,"From some of the policy cases that need to be emerged and talked about is 'How does Indiana? Provide access to clean syringes throughout the state? We have one syringe? exchange center in the state, and we have a law that makes users provide information to a pharmacist to get needles."
She explained that having to disclose personal information in exchange for clean syringes and needles is a huge deterrent for drug users.
All residents of Indiana are advised by the Indiana Department of Health to obtain HIV testing if they have engaged in high-risk behaviors, including engaging in unprotected sex or sharing needles.
Additionally, they recommend that people minimize their exposure by always wearing protection during sexual intercourse, as well as not engaging in sex acts with commercial workers, injecting drugs, or reusing or sharing a needle.
Meyerson did state that although the outbreak is concentrated in the southeastern part of the state, other areas of the state, including Bloomington, are not exempt from HIV or any other sexually transmitted diseases.
Meyerson concluded by stating, "If folks are concerned about that and other STDs, you can always get tested. Think about the sex that you're having and how to protect yourself better. Forget the outbreak. Do you even really know who you're having sex with, and are they healthy?"
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Rapid Screening Center
Jarrett Kendall
866-873-0879
info@rapidscreenings.com
Source: EmailWire.Com 
Source: EmailWire.com
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