HIV Epidemic Waning in Southern Indiana County

Public health officials said on Wednesday that the number of new HIV cases in a rural southern Indiana county that has been the site of a recent epidemic has fallen dramatically. Scott County health workers will still need to treat those infected and identify and advise those considered to be at high risk of contracting HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS. Dr. Jerome Adams, the state's health commissioner, said at a news conference, "This is something that is going to require continuing vigilance." Indiana officials began noticing a spike in HIV cases in the county late last year and tied it to abuse of intravenous drugs. The number of positive new cases now stands at 170 since December, while previously the county would register no more than five positive cases a year.