Scott County board votes to ask CDC to review local cancer data after state report finds no cluster

The Scott County Board of Supervisors voted to send a letter to the Centers for Disease Control asking the agency to review local cancer data after residents raised concerns about apparent increases in cancer cases.

County Administrator Josh Wilson told the board that the Virginia Department of Health’s most recent (2024) review “showed again that there wasn't any evidence of a cluster, that the number of cancer cases in the county did not exceed what they would normally, I guess, expect, throughout the state.” Despite that finding, supervisors agreed additional review by the CDC could be warranted and moved to authorize a formal request. Chair (presiding) made the motion and the board approved it by voice vote.

Residents at the meeting urged broader attention to health concerns. Board members asked staff to prepare a letter summarizing the county’s status and the state findings and to request CDC sign-off or further investigation once national data are available. The motion to send the county’s current state to the CDC passed without recorded opposition.

The action follows informal local outreach: staff reported that county volunteers and health liaisons have been meeting with the Virginia Cancer Registry and local stakeholders; officials said the next statewide data release is expected the following spring and that the CDC must sign off on any national review before public release.