FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — A Sanford man says a life-changing phone call from the Cumberland County Health Department turned out to be wrong.
After being told he was HIV positive, he says follow-up testing showed otherwise.
“This was really a big mistake. And, you know, I want to know how it happened,” Sherrod Harrison told CBS 17.
Harrison says he went to the Cumberland County Department of Public Health in June. After the visit, he says someone from the department called his wife, trying to reach him with some unexpected news.
“They contact my wife over the phone. Like, yeah, we, we speak to Sherrod Harrison and I’m like, ‘Oh, she like, yes, hold on for a second’,” said Harrison. “She’s like, ‘Yeah, Mr. Harrison, we need you to come in, you’re HIV positive.’ So, you know, you get hit with some news like that that’s really devastating.”
Harrison told CBS 17 he did not go in seeking an HIV test but received results from the department indicating a positive test.
He says he contacted Cumberland County Public Health, saying he didn’t believe the results were his, and the agency wanted him to come back in for a blood sample to retest, but he decided to go elsewhere.
“I went to Lee County, Sanford, North Carolina to a FastMed, and you know the process three or four or five days but and during the time I was waiting I went and bought home HIV tests from Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, the mouth swab, finger prick,” Harrison said. “And I, you know, I got all that still, the receipts and everything.”
And those results? Harrison says, negative.
Harrison showed CBS 17 a message from FastMed on July 13, saying he tested negative for HIV, weeks after positive test results were listed on paperwork from Cumberland County.
He says he notified the county of the negative results. That’s when he says he got a letter from the health department, saying, “As of July 14th, 2026, Mr. Harrison has not had a positive HIV test at the Cumberland County Health Department.”
While it’s not clear what may have happened — a clerical error, wrong patient information, a data-entry or notification issue — CBS 17 Investigates asked the department what happens in situations like Harrison’s and what’s in place to prevent a similar incident.
The county did not explain exactly what happened in Harrison’s case, but acting health director Heather Skeens told CBS 17 Investigates, “The Department has reviewed the circumstances involved and, as part of that review, evaluated its testing and notification procedures. We have implemented additional safeguards to support the accuracy and appropriate communication of test results.”
Skeens added that the department cannot discuss confidential patient information, but the county is aware of the concerns that have been raised.
Currently, the county tests for HIV through blood samples and rapid testing.
Skeens says infections are “reportable” within 24 hours of a confirmed diagnosis. Reports of false-positive tests or lab reporting errors are investigated. When it’s confirmed an error was made, the HIV case is removed from the state’s disease surveillance system.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services confirms to CBS 17 Investigates that an incident between June 1 and July 31 of this year in Cumberland County was confirmed as a reporting error, and it was corrected in the state’s system.
That’s the same time Harrison says he received his test results.
Harrison says he filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office for Civil Rights.
Harrison also says he contacted North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein’s Office, and received a response saying his concerns were referred to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R).
Plus, Harrison said he’s hoping for an apology from Cumberland County.