Health Encyclopedia

Reportable diseases

Definition

Reportable diseases are diseases considered to be of great public health importance. Local, state, and national agencies (for example, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) require that such diseases be reported when they are diagnosed by doctors or laboratories.

Reporting allows for the collection of statistics that show how often the disease occurs, which in turn helps researchers identify disease trends and track disease outbreaks. This can help control future outbreaks.

Alternative Names

Notifiable diseases

Information

All states have a "reportable diseases" list. Many of the diseases on the lists must also be reported to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control (CDC).

Reportable diseases are divided into several groups:

Mandatory written reporting: This means a report of the disease must be made in writing. Examples are gonorrhea and salmonellosis.
Mandatory reporting by telephone: This means the health care provider must make a report by phone. Examples are rubeola (measles) and pertussis (whooping cough).
Report of total number of cases: Examples are chickenpox and influenza.
Cancer: Cancer cases are reported to the state Cancer Registry.

A typical state list may appear as follows. Diseases marked with an asterisk (*) must also be reported to the CDC:

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)*
Anthrax *
Arboviral diseases (diseases caused by viruses spread by mosquitoes, sandflies, ticks, etc.)
- California serogroup virus disease
- Eastern equine encephalitis
- Powassan virus disease
- St. Louis encephalitis
- West Nile virus
- Western equine encephalitis
Botulism *
Brucellosis
Chancroid
Chickenpox
Chlamydia trachomatis
Cholera *
Coccidioidomycosis
Diphtheria *
Echinococcosis
Ehrlichiosis
Flu-related infant deaths
Giardiasis
Gonorrhea
Haemophilus influenza, invasive disease
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome
Hemolytic uremic syndrome, post-diarrhea
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis C
HIV infection
Influenza A virus infections - novel
Legionellosis
Listeriosis
Leprosy
Lyme disease
Malaria
Meningococcal disease
Mumps
Pertussis *
Plague *
Poliomyelitis *
Poliovirus infection, nonparalytic
Psittacosis
Q-fever
Rabies (human and animal cases) *
Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Rubella (including congenital syndrome)
Salmonellosis
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC)
Shigellosis
Smallpox
Streptococcal disease, invasive, Group A
Streptococcus pneumonia, drug resistant and invasive, including invasive cases in children age 5 and younger
Syphilis, including congenital syphillis
Tetanus *
Toxic shock syndrome - Staphylococcus bacteria
Toxic shock syndrome - Streptococcus bacteria
Trichinosis
Tuberculosis
Tularemia
Typhoid fever
Vancomycin intermediate Staphylococcus aureaus (VRSA)
Vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureaus (VRSA)
Vibrosis
Yellow fever *

The state health department will attempt to find the source of many of these illnesses, such as food poisoning or amebiasis. In the case of sexually-transmitted diseases (STD) the state will attempt to locate sexual contacts to assure they are disease-free or are appropriately treated if they are already infected.

The information obtained by reporting allows the state to make informed decisions and laws concerning activities and the environment such as food handling, water purification, insect control, animal control, STD tracking, and immunization programs.

Please remember that the health care provider is bound by law to report these events. People with any of the diseases listed in the state's reporting schedule should make every effort to cooperate with the state health workers. Cooperation may help locate the source of an infection or prevent the spread of an epidemic.

Review Date:4/7/2008
Reviewed By:A.D.A.M. Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Greg Juhn, MTPW, David R. Eltz, Kelli A. Stacy, ELS. Previously reviewed by Monica Gandhi MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases,UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network (6/19/2007).

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