The Madison County commissioners approved the exchange's renewal for two years on a 2-1 vote Tuesday after only one resident voice opposition during a public hearing.

Five years ago, Indiana experienced one of the nation's worst HIV outbreaks. Mike Pence was governor then, and he approved a needle exchange to keep the problem from spreading.

The state's first syringe exchange programs were created in 2015 in response to an HIV epidemic in southern Indiana.

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.