--- title: HIV Outbreak Triggers Public Health Emergency in Indiana description: Indiana Gov. Mike Pence declared a public health emergency as the state faces a large HIV flare-up from intravenous drug use. canonical: https://time.com/3759280/indiana-hiv-public-health-emergency-drugs/ author: Sabrina Toppa article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-26T09:08:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-15T05:07:39.000Z article:section: Health og:title: HIV Levels in Indiana Spark Alarm og:description: Gov. Mike Pence declared a public health emergency og:url: https://time.com/3759280/indiana-hiv-public-health-emergency-drugs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte41c96f0f59e5bd6/6987854ee53aba27c54d8431/ap875849042986.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5022 og:image:height: 2825 og:image:alt: Indiana Gov. Mike Pence responds to a question during a news conference, March 25, 2015, in Scottsburg, Ind. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: HIV Levels in Indiana Spark Alarm twitter:description: Gov. Mike Pence declared a public health emergency twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte41c96f0f59e5bd6/6987854ee53aba27c54d8431/ap875849042986.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # HIV Triggers a Public Health Emergency in Indiana > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: A Year in Space: The Mission [Watch (HLS stream): A Year in Space: The Mission](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gEqrnCPI.m3u8) (3:59)  _Published 2015-03-24. On March 28, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly begins a historic year in Space. Time follows Kelly and his twin brother, Mark, as they work the test the boundaries of long-term space travel._ by [Sabrina Toppa](https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Updated: Dec 15, 2023 5:07 AM UTCPublished: Mar 26, 2015 9:08 AM UTC  Indiana Gov. Mike Pence responds to a question during a news conference, March 25, 2015, in Scottsburg, Ind. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence responds to a question during a news conference, March 25, 2015, in Scottsburg, Ind. Darron Cummings—AP by [Sabrina Toppa](https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Updated: Dec 15, 2023 5:07 AM UTCPublished: Mar 26, 2015 9:08 AM UTC Gov. Mike Pence [declared ](http://www.in.gov/activecalendar/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=214652&information%5Fid=212487&type=&syndicate=syndicate)a public health emergency Thursday in south Indiana’s Scott County, which has seen a large HIV flare-up from intravenous drug use. At least 79 HIV confirmed cases have been tied to the southern Indiana country since January, up from fewer than five new cases in a typical year, and the state expects that figure to rise as officials scramble to alert up to 100 people linked to those newly infected. Intravenous drug use has been named as the primary infection source in every confirmed case. “This is all-hands-on-deck. This is a very serious situation,” Pence said at a news conference on Thursday. The emergency order will set up a command center to coordinate HIV and substance abuse treatment. Pence also authorized a temporary needle-exchange program, on recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after the governor had previously said he opposed the practice. “Scott County is facing an epidemic of HIV, but this is not a Scott County problem; this is an Indiana problem,” the Governor said in a statement. “ I am confident that together we will stop this HIV outbreak in its tracks.” _Read next:_ [_This Map Shows the Deadliest Counties in the U.S._](http://time.com/3757522/deadliest-counties/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3759280/indiana-hiv-public-health-emergency-drugs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3759280/indiana-hiv-public-health-emergency-drugs/"},"headline":"HIV Triggers a Public Health Emergency in Indiana","datePublished":"2015-03-26T09:08:30.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-15T05:07:39.000Z","description":"Intravenous drug use identified as the source of infections","url":"https://time.com/3759280/indiana-hiv-public-health-emergency-drugs/","keywords":["HIV/AIDS","Public Health","Drugs","health","HIV","Indiana"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte41c96f0f59e5bd6/6987854ee53aba27c54d8431/ap875849042986.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sabrina Toppa","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte41c96f0f59e5bd6/6987854ee53aba27c54d8431/ap875849042986.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Indiana Gov. 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