A sharp increase in the number of hepatitis C cases related to intravenous drug use led Marion County to seek a syringe exchange program.

An estimated 1,000 new cases of hepatitis C in 2017, prompted county health officials to declare an epidemic last month.

Scott County opened the state’s first syringe exchange program in 2015 after then-Governor Mike Pence declared a public health emergency.

The state has implemented just one of five CDC-recommended measures to prevent the spread of the disease through sharing contaminated needles.

The state approved its first needle exchange in 2015 after a serious HIV epidemic, fueled by intravenous drug use, broke out in downstate Scott County.

House lawmakers approved legislation Tuesday to make it easier for locals to establish syringe exchange programs.

The Indiana bill legalizing needle exchanges refers to the services as syringe exchange programs, and most counties’ terminology has followed suit. But earlier this month, Allen County announced the establishment of a syringe services program.

The county originally planned to partner with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to run the exchange, but that plan fell apart.

The Allen County Board of Commissioners approved a needle exchange program to curb the spread of hepatitis C and HIV with a 2-1 vote.