HIV Infection Linked to Injection Use of Oxymorphone in Indiana, 2014-2015
Philip J Peters, Pamela Pontones, Karen W Hoover, Monita R Patel, Romeo R Galang, Jessica Shields, Sara J Blosser, Michael W Spiller, Brittany Combs, William M Switzer, Caitlin Conrad, Jessica Gentry, Yury Khudyakov, Dorothy Waterhouse, S Michele Owen, Erika Chapman, Jeremy C Roseberry, Veronica McCants, Paul J Weidle, Dita Broz, Taraz Samandari, Jonathan Mermin, Jennifer Walthall, John T Brooks, Joan M Duwve, Indiana HIV Outbreak Investigation Team, Patti Hall, Jeannie McCarty, Judy Lovchik, Dan Hillman, Jennifer Myers, Brittany Gross, Michelle Sandoval-Rosario, Mark Austin, Heather Bradley, Kathy Byrd, Ellsworth Campbell, Pollyanna Chavez, Yao Hsuan Chen, Kathryn Curran, Laura Cooley, Elizabeth Liz DiNenno, Ken Dominguez, Ted Duncan, Robyn Neblett Fanfair, Norm Fikes, Shikah Garg, Runa Gokhale, Cal Ham, Brittani Harmon, Aaron Harris, Norma Harris, Walid Heneine, Brooke Hoots, Hongwei Jia, Jaime R Jones, Wei Luo, Silvina Masciotra, Eugene McCray, Nikki McGinn, Richard Needle, Sumathi Ramachandran, Charles E Rose, Karen Sereday, Anupama Shankar, Catlainn Sionean, Jacek Skarbinski, Philip Spradling, Eyasu H Teshale, Hong Thai, Michelle Van Handle, Tanja Walker, Tonya Ross Walker, Guoliang Xia, Jon Zibbell, Philip J Peters, Pamela Pontones, Karen W Hoover, Monita R Patel, Romeo R Galang, Jessica Shields, Sara J Blosser, Michael W Spiller, Brittany Combs, William M Switzer, Caitlin Conrad, Jessica Gentry, Yury Khudyakov, Dorothy Waterhouse, S Michele Owen, Erika Chapman, Jeremy C Roseberry, Veronica McCants, Paul J Weidle, Dita Broz, Taraz Samandari, Jonathan Mermin, Jennifer Walthall, John T Brooks, Joan M Duwve, Indiana HIV Outbreak Investigation Team, Patti Hall, Jeannie McCarty, Judy Lovchik, Dan Hillman, Jennifer Myers, Brittany Gross, Michelle Sandoval-Rosario, Mark Austin, Heather Bradley, Kathy Byrd, Ellsworth Campbell, Pollyanna Chavez, Yao Hsuan Chen, Kathryn Curran, Laura Cooley, Elizabeth Liz DiNenno, Ken Dominguez, Ted Duncan, Robyn Neblett Fanfair, Norm Fikes, Shikah Garg, Runa Gokhale, Cal Ham, Brittani Harmon, Aaron Harris, Norma Harris, Walid Heneine, Brooke Hoots, Hongwei Jia, Jaime R Jones, Wei Luo, Silvina Masciotra, Eugene McCray, Nikki McGinn, Richard Needle, Sumathi Ramachandran, Charles E Rose, Karen Sereday, Anupama Shankar, Catlainn Sionean, Jacek Skarbinski, Philip Spradling, Eyasu H Teshale, Hong Thai, Michelle Van Handle, Tanja Walker, Tonya Ross Walker, Guoliang Xia, Jon Zibbell
Abstract
Background: 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.
Methods: 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.
Results: 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.
Conclusions: 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.).
Source: PubMed