Both types of infection may be spread through the high-risk practice of sharing needles and other injection equipment such as cookers, syringes, rinse water and cotton balls, during drug use. Such infections also can be spread through unsafe sex practices.
Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart said the three people from Shelby County, who he would not identify, were tested before being admitted to state prison on drug convictions.
Lenhart said one of the prisoners claims he had shared needles with or had unprotected sex with 45 individuals. He said a detective has been assigned to work with the state health department and the Center for Disease Control to identify people who may have been in contact with the three prisoners.
Public health staff interviewed the three people to identify sexual partners and individuals with whom they have shared needles during injection drug use.
Four to five people who may have been in contact have already been identified, according to Lenhart.
In a process called “contact tracing,” public health staff are following up with these exposed individuals to offer free testing for HIV and viral hepatitis as well as for syphilis which also may be spread by sharing needles. Individuals who test positive will be given medical treatment options, and drug users will be given substance abuse counseling options.
“Injection drug users should never share needles because of the risk of contracting and spreading infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis,” said ODH Medical Director Dr. Mary DiOrio. “If you’ve shared a needle or other drug injection equipment with someone, you should get tested for HIV and hepatitis, as should your sexual partners.”
Cases of HIV have spiked among intravenous drug users at an alarming rate, compounding the public health threat from a nationwide epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse that has killed thousands of Ohioans over the past decade.
Lenhart said the HIV cases in his county are related to the use of heroin.
“We’ve been fighting against this heroin epidemic for three for four years. This heroin thing is not going away,” Lenhart said.
Lenhart urged drug users not to share needles.
“You wouldn’t have heard this ol’ boy saying this years ago: If you’re going to use heroin, don’t share a needle. Go get a new one,” Lenhart said.
So far, local health officials say they’ve seen no sign of a significant increase in new HIV infections, but they’ve already taken steps to prevent a potential outbreak in the Miami Valley, such as the CarePoint needle-exchange program at the Life Enrichment Center in East Dayton.
The Montgomery County program is aimed at ultimately diverting IV drug users into treatment programs to help stem the surge in drug overdoses, which killed more than 2,000 Ohioans in 2013 alone.
In the meantime, the needle-exchange program will provide clean, sterile needles for IV drug users who are increasingly responsible for the transmission of deadly HIV and Hepatitis C infections, according to state health statistic.
A total of 1,180 Ohioans were diagnosed with HIV infection in 2013, up about 12 percent from the previous year, according to figures from the Ohio Department of Health.
The spike occurred after four years in which the number of new HIV cases remained relatively stable, and transmission data suggested the increase in HIV was found mainly among gay men and IV drug users, according the health department’s 2014 annual report.
Health officials are quick to point out that IV drug use still accounts for the smallest percentage of HIV cases.
But officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned earlier this year that widespread IV drug use could eventually spark HIV and Hepatitis C outbreaks across the country, especially in states like Ohio with high rates of drug overdoses.
The advisories were prompted by a dramatic outbreak in Scott County in rural Indiana — about 30 miles north of Louisville, Ky. — where more than 140 people have been diagnosed with HIV since the beginning of the year.
Dr. Jonathan Mermin, the CDC’s HIV prevention chief, told the Associated Press during a visit to Scott County: “Quite frankly, I don’t expect that this is the last time we’ll see an outbreak like this.”
Reporter John Bedell contributed to this story.
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