Indiana's syringe exchange programs will get "another year of certainty" after a bill extending them was sent to Gov. Eric Holcomb Thursday for his signature.

Indiana's syringe exchange programs are one step closer to staying open another year. The Indiana House passed a bill Tuesday that includes language to extend the programs.

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.

Indiana House leaders say theyll try to extend by at least one year local syringe exchange programs that are set to expire in 2021. The programs are in danger of elimination after the Senate rejected an effort to extend them indefinitely.

The county's program provides clean syringes in exchange for used ones to reduce needle-sharing that can lead to the spread of disease.

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

The county's needle exchange aims to prevent the spread of diseases such as hepatitis C and HIV through the sharing of infected needles.

Needle exchange programs involve locations where people who inject drugs can receive clean, sterile syringes and other supplies necessary to safely inject and properly dispose of used syringes.

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