Community violence and preventable diseases are among the top concerns for Mecklenburg County’s director of the public health department, Dr. Raynard Washington.
Recently, public health concerns, including m-pox, syphilis, and others, have been on the rise in Mecklenburg County.
Back in September 2023, QCity Metro spoke with Washington to discuss pressing issues. At the time, top concerns included RSV, flu-like illness and HIV.
As the respiratory season ends, communicable diseases like COVID-19, the flu and RSV, are no longer immediate concerns locally.
But, other threats to public health remain present in Mecklenburg County.
COVID-19 and respiratory viruses
As respiratory virus season ends, RSV and COVID have slowed significantly in Mecklenburg County, Washington told QCity Metro.
“The worst of the respiratory virus season should be behind us,” Washington said.
In terms of capacity, local hospital systems are back to pre-respiratory season levels, according to Washington.
But, Washington said, the possibility of a COVID summer surge, as seen over the past few years, remains possible.
From March 8 – 21, 2024, Mecklenburg County had 402 emergency department visits for COVID-19-like illness. Of those visits, 64, or 15.9%, were hospital admissions, according to Mecklenburg County.
That’s down from the week before. From February 23 – March 7, 2024, there were 623 emergency department visits for COVID-19-like illness in Mecklenburg County. Of those visits, 111, or 17.8%, resulted in hospital admission.
M-pox
Mecklenburg County has seen a recent rise in m-pox — formerly called monkeypox — cases since the last increase in late 2023. The first local outbreak was in July 2022.
As of February 2023, there were 10 confirmed cases of m-pox among Mecklenburg County residents reported, up from six in January, according to the Mecklenburg County Health Department.
Nearly 120 residents, including some children, were potentially exposed from those confirmed cases.
A number of cases seen in this most recent outbreak, Washington said, come from more exposed people or people not isolating themselves.
Washington also told QCity Metro he has been carefully watching an especially dangerous variant of m-pox originating from the Congo that could be a future concern.
Overall, Washington said he is cautiously optimistic about the progress being made to lower the rates of m-pox throughout the county.
“Seems like cases have slowed a bit, but [there is] still a need for a lot of vigilance,” Washington said.
In the last couple of weeks, Washington said the rate of m-pox cases has improved, and the county hasn’t had a new case in about 10 days.
Washington encourages anyone engaging in high-risk sexual activities, like having sex with multiple or anonymous partners, to get vaccinated.
He also encourages those in the LGBTQ+ community, specifically men who have sex with men, to consider getting vaccinated as it disproportionately impacts those individuals.
The Mecklenburg County Public Health Department has also been increasing education on m-pox among clinicians.
STIs
In general, Washington said he is concerned with the rise seen in STIs within Mecklenburg County.
“It is preventable. We have options to test and treat all the conditions,” Washington said. “But unfortunately, we still continue to struggle with the rise of certain conditions and the persistent levels of STIs in the community.”
HIV
During the pandemic, Washington told QCity Metro, the number of new HIV cases in Mecklenburg County saw a drop. This could be a result of less reporting and testing during those years, he said.
Since the pandemic, the number of people with HIV has increased significantly.
HIV also disproportionately impacts the Black community, Washington said. In 2022, Black people made up about 31% of Mecklenburg County’s population but accounted for 65% of new HIV diagnoses, according to a press release from Mecklenburg County.
Nationally, in 2021, Black people made up around 12% of the U.S. population but accounted for 40%, or 13,000, of the estimated 32,100 new HIV infections, according to the CDC.
Syphilis
Since November 2022, sexual health experts have warned the public about the increase in syphilis cases.
Statewide, early syphilis cases increased in 2022 by 631% compared to 2012, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
The state has also seen an increase in congenital syphilis infection, a condition that occurs when a mother with syphilis passes the infection on to her baby during pregnancy. Cases rose from one case in 2012 to 57 cases in 2022, according to former reporting by QCity Metro.
“Syphilis continues to be a challenge for public health —not just here, locally, but across the state and across the country,” Washington told QCity Metro. “Syphilis is here.”
One particular issue is contacting people who have contracted syphilis, Washington told QCity Metro.
“It is tough when folks don’t get our calls or don’t give us information that we need to be able to disarm transmission,” Washington said.
He said an increasing amount of people lack contact information for sexual partners.
While Washington acknowledges that people engage in anonymous sex, he recommends having at least one way to get in touch with people.
He also encourages anyone sexually active to get routine STI testing done. Residents can utilize local on-site screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Screening is available through the Mecklenburg County Public Health Department.
“It’s always important to make sure that you are getting routinely checked for socially transmitted infections,” Washington said.
He also says the county plans on hosting a syphilis summit this summer that will focus on making sure healthcare partners are up to speed on the latest best practices in treatment and diagnosis.
Vaccine-preventable diseases
Another concern for Washington is an increase in cases of vaccine-preventable conditions in children, like mumps and measles.
“We are preparing for the day that we would have measles cases here in Mecklenburg,” Washington said, noting increased concern over the national outbreak.
He says the country-wide outbreak is significantly associated with people not getting their children vaccinated.
He said parents are more hesitant due to mistrust, putting children at risk for conditions that are “largely preventable if vaccinated.”
Due to how contagious vaccine-preventable diseases like measles are, Washington said, when children go unvaccinated, it can create a larger risk for an outbreak.
Families who have chosen not to vaccinate their kids also tend to be geographically located in similar areas, Washington said, allowing for outbreaks to grow quickly.
Washington encourages families to get their children vaccinated on schedule, specifically younger children.
Community violence
Lastly, Washington said the rise in community violence has also been a concerning public health issue for Mecklenburg County.
He told QCity Metro it will take a collaborative approach from the Charlotte community to lower rates of violence.
“It’s gonna take all of us,” Washington said. “It’s not simply a law enforcement issue. It’s not simply a public health issue. It’s an intersection of neighborhoods and housing, and schools and economic opportunity.”
Washington said the health department is working to build trauma-informed communities; connect families with resources; and support families and youth to reduce violence.
