HIV Infection Linked to Injection Use of Oxymorphone in Indiana, 2014–2015

TLDR

In January 2015, 11 new HIV diagnoses were reported in a small Indiana community, signaling a potential outbreak. The study aimed to determine the extent and cause of the outbreak and to implement control measures. Researchers performed phylogenetic analysis of HIV pol sequences and conducted extensive contact tracing, testing 468 contacts and linking infected individuals to care. The outbreak involved 181 patients, 87.8 % of whom injected extended‑release oxymorphone, 92.3 % were co‑infected with hepatitis C, and 98.7 % of sequenced viruses were highly related, with syringe‑sharing frequency strongly associated with infection risk, prompting a public‑health emergency and the launch of Indiana’s first syringe‑service program. Funding was provided by the state government of Indiana and other sources.

Abstract

In January 2015, a total of 11 new diagnoses of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were reported in a small community in Indiana. We investigated the extent and cause of the outbreak and implemented control measures.We identified an outbreak-related case as laboratory-confirmed HIV infection newly diagnosed after October 1, 2014, in a person who either resided in Scott County, Indiana, or was named by another case patient as a syringe-sharing or sexual partner. HIV polymerase (pol) sequences from case patients were phylogenetically analyzed, and potential risk factors associated with HIV infection were ascertained.From November 18, 2014, to November 1, 2015, HIV infection was diagnosed in 181 case patients. Most of these patients (87.8%) reported having injected the extended-release formulation of the prescription opioid oxymorphone, and 92.3% were coinfected with hepatitis C virus. Among 159 case patients who had an HIV type 1 pol gene sequence, 157 (98.7%) had sequences that were highly related, as determined by phylogenetic analyses. Contact tracing investigations led to the identification of 536 persons who were named as contacts of case patients; 468 of these contacts (87.3%) were located, assessed for risk, tested for HIV, and, if infected, linked to care. The number of times a contact was named as a syringe-sharing partner by a case patient was significantly associated with the risk of HIV infection (adjusted risk ratio for each time named, 1.9; P<0.001). In response to this outbreak, a public health emergency was declared on March 26, 2015, and a syringe-service program in Indiana was established for the first time.Injection-drug use of extended-release oxymorphone within a network of persons who inject drugs in Indiana led to the introduction and rapid transmission of HIV. (Funded by the state government of Indiana and others.).