Top CDC officials meet with Pence on HIV outbreak

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Top officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are in Indiana meeting with Gov. Mike Pence and state health officials about the HIV outbreak in southern Indiana.

The CDC officials in Indiana for meetings Monday and Tuesday include former State Health Commissioner Judy Monroe, who leads the federal agency’s state support efforts, and Jonathan Mermin, director of the agency’s National Center for HIV/AIDS.

State health officials say there have been 142 positive HIV tests so far this year in Scott County, the epicenter of the outbreak fueled largely by needle sharing among drug users.

Several CDC public health specialists have been in Scott County since late March.