RALEIGH, N.C. – A communicable disease nurse said it's frustrating not being able to keep up with cases.

What You Need To Know

  • County health departments are required by law to track more than 70 diseases

  • The Wake County Manager wants to add two communicable disease nurses to his county's health department

  • Department officials say the extra staff would reduce work load and give them a chance to do more prevention and education

Francis Nyachae's most powerful tool is his phone. A communicable disease nurse with Wake County Public Health, he mainly spends his days calling people who might have been exposed to one of some 70 reportable diseases. The person on the other end of the line might have been exposed to anything from COVID-19 or anthrax to sexually transmitted infections or food-borne illnesses. He said animal bites are the most common problem.

“There's a time (during mating season) we deal with bats the whole day,” he said. “What we educate them on is the vaccine, which is very important. When one starts a vaccine, you have to make sure you finish it.”

Nyachae is one of five communicable disease nurses working for the county. Their job is to contact people who have been exposed to communicable diseases, figure out where they might have been infected, then educate them on how to treat the disease and keep from being exposed to it again.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic began, he said he and his colleagues often felt they were only barely able to keep up with the volume of calls they needed to make.

County Manager David Ellis wants to change that. Ellis' proposed 2022 budget includes an additional $1.6 million for long-term public health needs.

Among other things, the extra money would allow the public health department to hire two additional communicable disease nurses.

Ruth Lassiter, the communicable disease program manager for the health department, said the extra staff would mean she could assign some of her team to prevention and education efforts as opposed to simply making calls all day.

Nyachae said the extra help can't come soon enough. He said the nature of the diseases he tracks means a delay in contacting a victim could have serious consequences.

“We are dealing with human beings,” he said. “This is life. If you are dealing with a human being who has a medical issue, you have to have this taken care of immediately.” 

The county board of commissioners is scheduled to vote on the county's finalized 2022 budget June 7.