Acute Disease Epidemiology
Mission
Our goal is to reduce, or to eliminate where possible, communicable diseases that pose a public health threat for South Carolinians. We do this through maintaining and optimizing surveillance systems, assuring data-based program planning and evaluation, developing new prevention opportunities and technologies, and supporting program management.
Our Work Involves:
- Monitoring and controlling both those reportable diseases as required by South Carolina law and other conditions that may pose a public health threat.
- Providing medical consultations on multiple diseases and conditions to South Carolina physicians, hospital infection control staff, community health centers, and public school nurses.
- Investigating the causes of and providing recommendations for the control of disease outbreaks such as hepatitis A in day care centers, illnesses resulting from eating incorrectly prepared or stored foods, and animal bites where the animal was known or suspected to have rabies.
- Providing training for DHEC's regional Epi Teams, enabling them to investigate and follow up on disease outbreaks in their respective areas.
- Providing medical consultation and epidemiologic support for other DHEC disease programs such as Immunization, STD/HIV, and Tuberculosis Control.