The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an alert to public health departments and clinicians to be vigilant for HIV outbreaks similar to the one hitting injection drug users (IDUs) in Indiana, while warning of overlapping hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission among IDUs. Nationally, the number of Americans identified as recently infected with hep C rose 150 percent between 2010 and 2013, as an epidemic of addiction to opioid painkillers has swept the country. Such addiction has often led people to inject heroin as a cheaper or more readily available alternative to prescription drugs such as Oxycontin (oxycodone) and Vicodin (hydrocodone). The CDC recommends regular testing for those at risk for either virus. For IDUs, the agency stresses the importance of access to drug treatment, opioid replacement therapy, counseling on safe injection methods, and sterile injection equipment.