An outbreak of H.I.V. in a rural Indiana county prompted the state’s governor on Thursday to declare a public health emergency as officials worked to stop the spread of the virus that causes AIDS.

The 80 cases in Scott County, in the state’s southeast, were attributed to intravenous drug use.

Gov. Mike Pence said the infections constituted an epidemic, and he pledged state resources to help local health officials contain the virus. In his emergency declaration, which lasts 30 days, Governor Pence authorized a short-term, state-supervised needle exchange program that would provide drug users with access to safe needles.

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