Communicable Disease Program
Disease investigation and prevention of outbreaks are among the highest priorities of the Health Department due to the fact it is an important part of protecting the public's health. Our goal is to prevent and reduce transmission of all communicable disease through a system of surveillance, control, and education.
Certain diseases, called reportable communicable diseases are required by law to be reported to the local health department (to see a list of these diseases, please click here). A public health nurse contacts the primary care provider, patient, and/or family in an attempt to determine how the disease was contracted and to teach how to prevent further spread of the disease.
What Are Communicable Diseases?
- Airborne or droplet
- Animal-borne or insect-borne
- Bloodborne infection
- Foodborne or waterborne
- Sexually transmitted
Other Functions of the Communicable Disease Program
- Ongoing information and education for the public and primary care providers on communicable diseases and how to prevent them.
- Send to primary care providers Health alerts and information about emerging or seasonal communicable disease events such as foodborne illness or the occurrence of new disease.
- Routine surveillance of disease reporting by primary care physicians, hospitals, and laboratories to detect trends and assess the public health impact of disease.
- Investigation of an intervention in response to disease outbreaks.
- Management of veterinary public health issues, such as control and prevention of rabies and other diseases of animal origin that can affect humans.
- Communication sharing between bordering local health departments, state and federal health agencies, primary care physicians and hospitals as an essential part of disease surveillance and control efforts.
Additional Information
For information regarding infection control in nursing homes and assisted living facilities please visit: www.cdc.gov/longtermcare/
For more information regarding communicable diseases or if you need to report a communicable disease please email our staff by clicking HERE. For more information, please see the resources below: