Allen becomes latest Indiana county to offer needle exchange

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - Allen has become the latest Indiana county to offer a needle exchange

The Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health said Wednesday the Allen County Syringe Services Program opened in early November and has seen a few visitors. The department says it didn't advertise the opening of the program because it believed a soft opening was the best way to get the word out to those affected.

It's open for three hours every Tuesday evening.

Needle exchanges provide clean syringes to intravenous drug users to prevent needle-sharing that spreads hepatitis C, HIV and other diseases. Similar exchanges are operating in a handful of other Indiana counties following passage of a new state law permitting them in response to an HIV outbreak in southern Indiana's Scott County.