Indiana health officials have asked the assistance of federal experts from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to try to contain a Southern Indiana HIV (Human Immundeficiency Virus) outbreak that has incurred a total of 55 confirmed HIV cases and 13 possible positive cases.
The state has created a public awareness campaign named 'You Are Not Alone' to make people aware especially those from the affected areas about drug abuse, safe sex, proper needle disposal and HIV testing.
According to CDC, estimated1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection, and almost 1 in 7 (14%) are unaware of their infection. Also, the estimated incidence of HIV has remained stable overall in recent years, at about 50,000 new HIV infections per year. In Indiana, they typically incur around 500 cases of HIV infection each year.
Most of the infected people shared needles while injecting the painkiller Opana while health experts say some of the cases might be sexually transmitted.
"This is crisis," Dr. Kevin Burke, the Clark County public health officer who detected the outbreak's first case in late December told News and Tribune. "This kind of cluster of cases in a small county is extraordinary. We could be looking at HIV levels akin to sub-Saharan Africa," he added.
Burke, who is in charge of measures to control HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, has estimated that the cases might reach 100 in addition to the 55 confirmed cases in just months. Now, health officials are airing their concern on the outbreak and they are appealing for the help from federal health officials to curb the virus.
Since the beginning of this year, 26 new HIV cases have been diagnosed across five Indiana counties: Jackson, Washington, Scott, Perry, and Clark. A total of 405 cases of HIV was reported in 2012 in Indiana, but the numbers this year could exceed that.