The mayor of Charleston is requesting local officials seek further assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the county’s fight against an HIV outbreak. In a letter on Wednesday, Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin “strongly urged” Dr. Sherri Young, executive director and health officer for the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, and its board of directors to make a formal request to the State Bureau of Public Health asking the CDC for Epi-Aid, or Epidemiologic Assistance. The focus of an Epi-Aid investigation is to assist partners in making rapid, practical decisions to prevent and control the public health problem.
The county recently announced it had beefed up its support with the addition of two state specialists dedicated to HIV that are now working at the health department. Additionally, the mayor is seeking local health care providers in the community to provide feedback on a recently-passed ordinance by the Charleston City Council, as well as a law passed by the West Virginia Legislature.