World-renowned AIDS experts from B.C. to help Indiana fight HIV epidemic in rural county

VANCOUVER – World-renowned HIV experts from British Columbia are stepping in to help control a massive outbreak of the disease in rural Indiana.

The B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS is partnering with Indiana University’s school of medicine in an effort to stymie an epidemic in Scott County where 184 people have tested positive for HIV since December 2014.

Nearly 10 per cent of the county’s 4,200 residents are believed to be injection drug users, with many crushing and injecting the opioid painkiller Opana.

The B.C. Centre for Excellence is known for its innovative ‘treatment as prevention’ approach to HIV, where patients who test positive for the virus immediately receive free treatment to stop its transmission from progressing and reduce the chance of others getting infected.

“We wanted to be able to collaborate with them because thus far, we’ve not had an HIV outbreak such as what we’re seeing in Indiana, in Scott County, in a rural setting in the United States,” said Dr. Diane Janowicz, an expert in infectious disease at Indiana University.

Combining treatment as prevention with harm reduction and addiction management has brought epidemic levels of HIV on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside virtually under control, said Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence.

“What the Indiana colleagues are trying to do is learn from our experience and trying to export and adapt this strategy that has proven so successful here,” he said.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
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