NACCHO News and Announcements

Join NACCHO’s DIS Subcommittee!

Are you a disease intervention specialist (DIS) and interested in working with your national DIS colleagues? If so, join NACCHO’s DIS Subcommittee! This group falls under NACCHO’s Subject Matter Expert Workgroup- the HIV, STI, and Viral Hepatitis Workgroup (HSHW) and provides the opportunity to frame NACCHO’s DIS work. Through this subcommittee, NACCHO will elevate and advocate for the work of DIS through information and resource sharing, as well as peer engagement. This is an excellent opportunity for you to bring valuable perspectives and insight from a field that only your workforce knows best!

Starting January of 2025, subcommittee members will be required to attend 1-hr Zoom meetings every other month. Date/time of the meetings will be determined with input from members.

If you are interested, please complete this short interest form by Friday, November 1, 2024. Selected members will be notified in December so stay tuned for updates! If you have questions, please reach out to STI Senior Program Analyst, Daisha Washington.

NACCHO’s Congenital Syphilis and Perinatal HIV Compendium Gallery

Interested in knowing about new approaches to address congenital syphilis and perinatal HIV? Check out NACCHO’s Congenital Syphilis and Perinatal HIV Compendium Gallery! This compendium was developed in conjunction with the CDC to collect information on congenital syphilis prevention and control interventions and activities across the United States. As of 2023, the compendium also includes perinatal HIV interventions and activities. The responses gathered in the compendium can help increase peer to peer collaboration and improve congenital syphilis and perinatal HIV efforts across jurisdictions. If you have questions about this, please contact [email protected] to connect with us!

HIV Is Not a Crime: A Discussion on Legal, Policy, Health & Equity Considerations Related to HIV Criminalization

Oct 30, 2024 12:00 PM EST

After more than 40 years of HIV research and significant biomedical advancements to treat and prevent HIV, most HIV criminalization laws do not reflect current scientific and medical evidence. These laws are unjust, increase stigma, exacerbate disparities, lead to inequities, and may discourage HIV testing. Under existing laws in most states, the behavior of people with HIV can be criminalized for potentially exposing others to HIV. Actual transmission or intent to transmit HIV is not usually required.

Current scientific and medical evidence should inform state laws and practices that criminalize actions by people with HIV. States should consider updating or repealing outdated laws and practices. Moreover, HIV data, including surveillance data, should be strongly protected against non-public health uses. When laws that are meant to protect the public are not working as intended, are unjust, or may be hurting efforts to keep communities healthy, common solutions must be found to better meet public health and public safety goals.

Join NACCHO, CDC/DHP, and the Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP) for a conversation about the legal, policy, and equity repercussions of HIV criminalization and the role of health departments in addressing and protecting communities from harms enacted by these statutes.

Register here.

HIV, STI, Hepatitis & Harm Reduction Resources and News

New interim OROV guidance on possible sexual transmission

Check out CDC’s new guidance on Oropouche that has recently been published on the CDC website:

• Preventing Oropouche | Oropouche | CDC (for the general public)
• Oropouche: Causes and How It Spreads | Oropouche | CDC (for the general public)
• Oropouche Virus and Possible Sexual Transmission | Oropouche | CDC (for healthcare providers).

These updates are based on a recent publication in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal that describes a patient diagnosed with Oropouche, who had Oropouche virus and viral RNA in bodily fluids, including semen. This evidence suggests that there could be sexual transmission. CDC will continue to review all available data, work closely with partners to obtain additional data regarding the likelihood of sexual transmission, and update prevention recommendations as needed. As more is learned about Oropouche, CDC will continue to keep the public informed through CDC websites and social media platforms.

Although there has been no known spread of Oropouche virus through sex to date. However, virus in semen has been associated with sexual transmission of other infectious diseases. Therefore, people traveling to, or having traveled to, an area with a Level 1 or 2 Travel Health Notice may want to take steps to prevent spread through sex. People can use condoms or not have sex using the time frames noted in Preventing Oropouche web page.

NCHHSTP Syndemic Approach: New Website!

NCHHSTP seeks a more holistic approach to individual and population health and aims to improve efficiency in providing services for the diseases and conditions addressed by NCHHSTP that share similarly affected populations, geographic locations, and social and structural determinants. To learn more about their syndemic approach, check out the new website here.

HHS Released the HSV Addendum to the STI Plan

HHS released the Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) Addendum to the Sexually Transmitted Infections National Strategic Plan (STI Plan) - PDF on 10/11/2024. The HSV Addendum seamlessly integrates HSV types 1 and 2 into the vision, goals, objectives, and strategies aimed at enhancing STI diagnostics, prevention, care, and treatment as outlined in the STI Plan. It also complements the STI Federal Implementation Plan - PDF by identifying and prioritizing federal action steps that federal agencies are encouraged to include in future STI Progress Reports.

Join the Largest National HIV Testing Day Activation in the Nation!

Each year on June 27th, KFF’s Greater Than HIV and Walgreens bring health departments and community organizations into Walgreens stores to offer FREE rapid HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis C testing, and distribute educational resources. Local partners also provide PrEP referrals and connect those in need to care.

Interested in participating in the 2025 Greater Than HIV/Walgreens National HIV Testing Day activation? Click here to learn more and complete a short questionnaire.

Questions? Email KFF at [email protected]