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Health emergency declared for third Indiana county

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The state health commissioner declared a public health emergency for Fayette County.

“Fayette County is battling a Hepatitis C epidemic tied to intravenous drug use,” said Dr. Adams. “A syringe exchange is one part of this effort to help reduce the spread of this devastating disease.”

The Indiana State Department of Health received Fayette County’s request on Tuesday, Aug. 4.

The declaration of public health emergency will run through Aug. 13, 2016.

The health commissioner has previously declared public health emergencies in Madison County and Scott County.

Clark County is in the process of formally applying for a needle exchange program. Their format plan still needs to be completed and submitted to the ISDH.