The Virginia Epidemiology Response Team was created by the Division of Disease Prevention in order to implement the five intervention strategies of syphilis elimination established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1999. The five intervention strategies are as follows:
Rapid Outbreak Response
- Develop an outbreak response plan
- Work with a communicable disease outbreak team (i.e. VERT)
- Conduct an epidemiologic, social, and behavioral assessment
- Involve and define the roles and responsibilities of affected communities and key community-based organizations
- Establish area-specific criteria that determine when the outbreak response plan will be implemented
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Enhance Health Promotions
- Implement and evaluate appropriate and effective health promotion interventions
- Ensure timely delivery of high quality, confidential, and comprehensive client-centered partner services to patients, partners, and other identified high risk individuals
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Enhance Surveillance
- Achieve complete, accurate, timely, and confidential reporting of positive syphilis test results
- Analyze syphilis data regularly, effectively, and promptly
- Develop and implement a framework for syphilis surveillance
- Evaluate syphilis morbidity by monitoring positive syphilis test results alongside behavioral risk factors
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Expand Clinical and Laboratory Services
- Provide accessible and timely client-centered counseling, screening, and treatment services in sites frequented by populations at risk for syphilis
- Ensure high quality syphilis preventive and care services
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Strengthen Community Involvement and Partnerships
- Acknowledge and respond to the effects of racism, poverty, and other relevant social issues on the persistence of syphilis in the United States
- Develop and maintain partnerships to increase the availability of and accessibility to preventive and care services through coalition building
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