Definition of Reportable diseases:

Reportable diseases are diseases considered to be of great public health importance. Local, state, and national agencies (for example, county and state health departments or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) require that these 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. This helps researchers identify disease trends and track disease outbreaks. This information can help control future outbreaks.

Information:

All states have a "reportable diseases" list. It is the responsibility of the health care provider, not the patient, to report cases of these diseases. Many diseases on the lists must also be reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Reportable diseases are divided into several groups:

• Mandatory written reporting: A report of the disease must be made in writing. Examples are gonorrhea and salmonellosis.
• Mandatory reporting by telephone: 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 (*) were reportable to the CDC at the national level in 2010:

• 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 (genital infection)*
• Cholera *
• Coccidioidomycosis *
• Cryptosporidiosis *
• Cyclosporiasis *
• Diphtheria *
• Echinococcosis
• Ehrlichiosis *
• Giardiasis *
• Gonorrhea *
• Haemophilus influenza, invasive disease
• Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome *
• Hemolytic uremic syndrome, post-diarrheal *
• Hepatitis A *
• Hepatitis B *
• Hepatitis C*
• Influenza-related infant deaths *
• Legionellosis *
• Listeriosis *
• Leprosy (Hansen's disease) *
• Lyme disease *
• Malaria *
• Measles *
• Meningococcal disease *
• Mumps *
• Novel influenza A virus infections *
• 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 syphilis *
• Tetanus *
• Toxic shock syndrome - Staphylococcus bacteria *
• Toxic shock syndrome - Streptococcus bacteria *
• Trichinosis *
• Tuberculosis *
• Tularemia *
• Typhoid fever *
• Vancomycin intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) *
• Vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) *
• Vibrosis
• Yellow fever

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

The information gained from reporting allows the county or state to make informed decisions and laws about activities and the environment, such as:

• Animal control
• Food handling
• Immunization programs
• Insect control
• STD tracking
• Water purification

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