HIV

CDC Reports Large HIV Outbreak in Indiana

The CDC has issued new recommendations for healthcare providers following investigation of a large outbreak of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among injection drug users in southeastern Indiana.

Between November 2014 and January 2015, 11 new cases of HIV were reported in an area of Indiana that normally only reports 5 new cases per year. This prompted an investigation of the outbreak by the CDC, which revealed 135 new cases of HIV infection among the community of 4200 people.
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Of these, 84% were coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), and among 112 interviewed cases, 96% reported injection drug use using shared equipment.

“Urgent action is needed to prevent further HIV and HCV transmission in this area and to investigate and control any similar outbreaks in other communities,” the CDC wrote in its health alert.

Following the investigation, the CDC has released recommendations for health departments and healthcare providers. These recommendations include:

  • Test all persons diagnosed with HCV for coinfection with HIV.
  • Recommend testing to syringe-sharing and sexual partners of those diagnosed with either infection.
  • Notify the CDC and state health department of any suspected clusters of HIV or HCV infection.

For more information on the outbreak the recommendations, visit the CDC’s website.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

CDC. Outbreak of recent hiv and hcv infections among persons who inject drugs [press release]. http://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00377.asp. Accessed April 27, 2015.