6.01 – Reporting of Communicable Disease to Health Department

Policy

Communicable disease that is declared to be dangerous to the public health shall be reported to the Ohio Health Department in accordance with the Ohio Administrative code, Communicable Disease Rules.

Procedure

• Reports of notifiable diseases shall be made by the Departmental Supervising Licensed nurse unless she/he has evidence that a report has been made by the physician in attendance.
• In the event of the Departmental Supervising Nurse’s absence, the Medical Services Coordinator will be responsible for reports to the Health Department.
• The employee diagnosed with an infectious disease may not return to work until determined by physician and/or the Departmental Supervising Licensed Nurse to no longer be contagious to individuals or staff.

Diseases to be Reported

• Diseases of major public health concern because of the severity of disease or potential for epidemic spread:  This is to be reported immediately via telephone.  The following are classified as class A
  • Anthrax
  • Meningococcal Disease
  • Botulism, foodborne
  • Plague
  • Cholera
  • Rabies, human
  • Diphtheria
  • Rubella (not congenital)
  • Measles
  • Influenza A
  • SARS
  • Smallpox
  • Tularemia
  • Viral hemorrhagic fever
  • COVID-19/ Coronavirus
  • Yellow fever

• Any unexpected pattern of cases, suspected cases, deaths or increased incidence of any other disease of major public health concern, because of the severity of disease or potential for epidemic spread, which may indicate a newly recognized infectious agent, outbreak, epidemic, related public health hazard or act of bioterrorism.
• All positive and negative COVID-19 (coronavirus) testing completed using on-site BINAX test per local and state regulatory guidance.
• Diseases of major public health concern because of the severity of disease or potential for epidemic spread.  This is to be reported by the end of the next business day after the case or suspected case presents.  The following are classified as class B:
  • Arboviral neuroinvasive and non-neuroinvasive diseases:
    • LaCrosse virus disease
    • Powassan virus disease
    • St. Louis encephalitis virus disease
    • West Nile virus infection
    • Western equine encephalitis virus disease
    • Other arthropod-borne disease
    • Chancroid
    • Coccidioidomycosis
    • Cyslosporiasis
    • Dengue
    • E.Coli (0157:H7) and Shiga toxin-producing E.Coli (STEC)
    • Granuloma inguinale
    • Haemophilus influenza
    • Hantavirus
    • Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)
    • Hepatitis A
    • Hepatitis B (perinatal)
    • Influenza-associated pediatric mortality
    • Legionnaires’ disease
    • Listeriosis
    • Malaria
    • Meningitis (viral and bacterial)
    • Mumps
    • Pertussis
    • Poliomyelitis
    • Psittacosis
    • Q Fever
    • Rubella (congenital)
    • Salmonellosis
    • Shigellosis
    • Staphylococcus aureus, with resistance or intermediate resistance to VANCO (VRSA/VISA)
    • Syphilis
    • Tetanus
    • TB active including multi-drug resistant tuberculosis
    • Typhoid
• The following disease of significant public health concern shall be reported by the end of the business week in which the case or suspected case presents.  The following are classified in class C.
  • Amebiasis
  • Botulism
  • Brucellosis
  • Campylobacteriosis
  • Chlamydia infections
  • Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
  • Cryptosporidiosis
  • Cytomegalovirus
  • Ehrlichiosis
  • Giardiasis
  • Gonococcal infections
  • Hepatitis B (non-perinatal)
  • Hepatitis C
  • Hepatitis D
  • Hepatitis E
  • Herpes
  • Influenza-hospital associated
  • Leprosy
  • Leptospirosis
  • Lyme Disease
  • Meningitis, including other bacterial
  • Mycobacterium disease, other than tuberculosis (MOTT)
  • Rocky Mountain spotted fever
  • Streptococcal disease group A (newborns)
  • Streptococcal disease group B (newborns)
  • Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS)
  • Streptococcal pneumonia, invasive disease (ISP)
  • Toxic shock syndrome (TSS)
  • Trichinosis
  • Typhus fever
  • Varicella
  • Vibriosis
  • Yersiniosis

Last Revised: 5/11/2023