Responding to an HIV Cluster or Outbreak: Who do you call? What do you do?

This on-line technical assistance event provides EHE jurisdictions with a framework for a coordinated response to an HIV outbreak or cluster.

Presenters identified model approaches for community partner engagement and coordination to build an immediate response and sustain long term relationships to support interventions for the mitigation of future outbreaks.

This interactive session encouraged jurisdictions to identify any gaps in their service networks and partnerships when planning for cluster response. The presenters described a variety of technical assistance approaches that can be tailored to help jurisdictions ensure their readiness to respond through improvements in linkage to HIV treatment, access to behavioral health and other support services and thereby enhance their performance on the HIV care continuum.

The webinar is part of the support being provided to Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) jurisdictions through TAP-in, the HRSA-funded technical assistance provider.

Webinar Sections

• Learning Objectives and Agenda (0:00)
• Introduction to Session Goals (7:06)
  Clinic care and linkage to services.
• Presenters (8:05)
• Pre-session poll questions (9:09)
• Introduction from HRSA Leadership, Cluster Response, Data Sharing (11:44)
  Heather Hauck gives introduction to asset mapping, engaging stakeholders, and more. 
• Part I: Introduction (22:56)
  Overview of HIV cluster confirmed in West Virginia among people who inject drugs, what factors contributed, the Mid-Atlantic AETC involvement in the outbreak, and more.
• Part II: What happened at the onset of this cluster/outbreak?(31:12)
  • Video segment of Michael Kilkenny, MD, Physician Director of Cabell/Huntington Health Department (32:31)
    Outline of the health department’s response to the outbreak.
  • Video segment of Kara Willenburg, MD, FACP, Associate Professor and Chief of Infectious Diseases at the School of Medicine at Marshall University (38:13)
    Overview of the HIV services provided.
• Part III: What did the State Health Department do? (43:00)
  • Video segment of Amy Atkins, MPA, Director of the Office of Epidemiology and Prevention Services at West Virginia’s Department of Health and Human Resources (43:04)
    An overview of the recent HIV outbreaks in West Virginia.
  • Video segment of Andrea Rogers, BS,MT (ASCP)Director of the WVU Positive Health Clinic Laboratory Directory and West Virginia Bureau for Public Health Rapid Testing Program (49:45)
    An overview of the ramping up of testing.
• Part IV: What was it like working with the CDC? (53:04)
• Part V: How did collaborations and linkage for patients happen? (59:15)
• Part VI: What have been the opportunities for continued intervention to improved coordination and care? (1:07:52)
  • How do you enhance networks and collaboration? (1:12:14) 
    Clinic challenges in cluster/outbreak response, example of Mid-Atlantic AETC critical incident intervention in the West Virginia outbreak.
• Part VII: What are the available resources? (1:22:18)
  Overview of NACHC, health center services, EHE, SCP, and more.
• TAP-in TA (1:45:39)
  Overview of TAP-in as a resource and TA abilities.
• Q&A (1:53:20)