CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — Nearly 400 people were diagnosed with HIV in Mecklenburg County in 2009.
That means at least one person per day was diagnosed, a rate that is twice that of the state and the nation.
Eyewitness News anchor Erica Bryant talked to one local woman who claims a man is intentionally infecting others.
"I trusted him, and I didn't really think he'd do that to me," the woman, who did not want to be identified, said.
She added: "It is very scary. It is very evil."
She said she was targeted after meeting a man and starting to date him. After their first sexual encounter, she said she developed disturbing symptoms and confronted him.
"‘Did you give me any type of disease?' Is what I asked him, and he said, ‘So what if I did? What are you going to do about it?'" she said. "(He was) just that cold."
The woman said he cut off contact with her and disappeared, so she called police.
"Simply going to the police and filing a report is not enough," said Steve Ward, a retired Mecklenburg County assistant district attorney.
He said the health department is the lead agency in investigating these kinds of sex crimes.
"They can refer the person be detained and get the magistrate to make sure they are tested and treated," Ward said. "It's something that no other agency would have the ability to do."
Lorraine Houser, who heads the unit of disease investigators at the health department, said if such a suspect is in the community, her team would track him down.
In 2009, they investigated 64 cases and in 2010, they investigated 86 and served 20 isolation orders, meaning they counseled infected people and warned them if they didn't take steps to contain the virus, they would be breaking the law.
"They are instructed that if they break those control measures again, they can be prosecuted," Houser said.
The woman who spoke to Eyewitness News has tested positive for herpes, but, so far, not for HIV. She said she accepts responsibility for her mistakes and wants to warn others.
"If I can just save one person's life -- I wouldn't want anyone to go through what I've experienced," she said.
To report information to the Mecklenburg County Health Department for an HIV investigation, call 704-336-6438.
Additional Information:
HIV/STD Testing CDC's HIV/AIDS Information Site 2010 Mecklenburg County Health Assessment Legal Explanation Of Criminal Transmission Of HIV Defending Against HIV Criminalization The House Of Mercy In Belmont
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