Published: August 12, 2008 05:15 pm      

Selective health information — Cumberland Plateau violates public right

Somewhere in Southwest Virginia, a child is suspected of having LaCrosse encephalitis. We know this because officials with the Cumberland Plateau Health District felt news of the occurrence of this disease was important enough to notify the press.

But when contacted by this newspaper, officials refused to identify the county where the outbreak occurred. The Cumberland Plateau Health District covers four counties — Tazewell, Buchanan, Dickenson and Russell.

Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain. LaCrosse encephalitis is a virus spread by the bite of the treehole mosquito. Most cases of this virus, which can cause headache, nausea, vomiting, seizures, paralysis and coma, occur in youth under the age of 16.

LaCrosse encephalitis is a serious disease. And health officials are wise to warn homeowners of the hazards of leaving any pools of standing water near their residences because of the potential to spawn a breeding ground for the mosquitoes.

However, we are amazed that the Cumberland Plateau Health District would refuse to identify the county where the suspected case of LaCrosse was diagnosed.

When first asked for the information, the district’s public information officer refused, citing federal health privacy laws.

What?

We did not ask for the name of the individual infected with LaCrosse. We did not ask for the patient’s age or gender. We did not ask for the city, town or community in which he or she lived. In the public’s interest, all we wanted to know was the name of the county, so that other residents of the area could be made aware the dangerous LaCrosse virus may have surfaced nearby.

The health district’s spokesman explained that the “privacy of the patient” outweighed the need for the public to know in which county the disease had been reported.

Of course, we respect any patient’s right to privacy — but we’re confounded that naming a county can result in specific identification of an individual.

Well, it can’t.

Upon more direct questioning about the health district’s policy regarding the release of information concerning infectious diseases, we became even more alarmed.

During initial questioning the spokesman alluded to the district’s policy regarding the release of such news to the media. When asked for a copy of the policy, we were told there were no actual written guidelines.

In general, the Cumberland Plateau Health District has opted to disclose information about infectious diseases by district — meaning the four-county area. Those who want more specific details about where an outbreak occurs may, or may not, get some information. It’s determined on a case-by-case basis.

Asked if the press would be alerted to a rabies case in a specific county, we were told it depended on the case.

Hantavirus? Bubonic plague?

Same answer. If the officials with the health district feel the public needs to know, then the press will be given this information — and maybe more.

Or maybe not.

This defies logic. It violates the public’s right to know.

In neighboring West Virginia, infectious disease cases are reported to county health departments, which can alert the media. So why is the Commonwealth’s Cumberland Plateau Health District so secretive about providing information about public health threats on a county level?

We call on Southwest Virginia’s delegates to the General Assembly as well as the Virginia Department of Health to immediately investigate the Cumberland Plateau Health District’s policy regarding its release of information to the public.

We also remind the health district that it is not an entity unto itself — it exists to serve the public. And when public health is at risk, the people have a right to know.