FAYETTE COUNTY -State Health Commissioner Jerome Adams, M.D.,
M.P.H., has declared a public health emergency for Fayette County,
allowing the county health department to establish a syringe exchange
program as part of a broader effort to reduce the spread of Hepatitis
C.
"Fayette County is battling a Hepatitis C epidemic tied to
intravenous drug use," said Dr. Adams. "County officials have submitted a
comprehensive, multi-pronged plan to combat this epidemic, and a
syringe exchange is one part of this effort to help reduce the spread of
this devastating disease."
Senate Enrolled Act 461 made syringe
exchange programs legal in Indiana for the first time, under certain
circumstances. The law lays out a set of procedural and substantive
requirements that local communities must meet in order for an emergency
declaration to be considered by the state health commissioner.
Read more....Labels: hepatitis C epidemic, Indiana, needle exchange, public health emergency