Indiana University and BC experts team up to control rural HIV crisis
Posted January 11, 2016 2:54 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER – World-renowned HIV experts from British Columbia are stepping up to help control a massive outbreak of the disease in rural Indiana.
The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS is partnering with the Indiana University School of Medicine in an effort to stymie an epidemic in Scott County, Ind., where 184 people have tested positive for HIV since December 2014.
Nearly 10 per cent of the county’s 4,200 residents are believed to be injection drug users, with many crushing and injecting the opioid painkiller Opana.
The BC Centre for Excellence is known for its innovative approach to HIV, with patients immediately receiving free treatment to stop the disease from progressing and to reduce the chance of others getting infected.
Dr. Julio Montaner is the director of the centre and says he’s convinced the epidemic in Indiana can be halted if the same strategy is implemented.
It has been adopted by the United Nations and has been used in several other countries, including China, France and Panama.
