201 COMMUNICABLE DISEASE SURVEILLANCE

201.1 The following diseases shall be considered communicable diseases for the purpose of communicable disease surveillance and shall be reported by telephone to the Director immediately upon provisional diagnosis or the appearance of suspicious symptoms, and confirmed in writing within twenty-four (24) hours:

1. (a) Animal bites;
2. (b) Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis);
3. (c) Botulism;
4. (d) Cholera (Toxigenic Vibrio cholerae 01 or 0139);
5. (e) Diphtheria;
6. (f) Encephalitis, acute arboviral (e.g. Eastern Equine Encephalitis, St. Louis Encephalitis, Western Equine Encephalitis)
7. (g) Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS);
8. (h) Hemolytic uremic syndrome;
9. (i) Hepatitis A;
10. (j) Influenza-associated mortality (patients less than eighteen (18) years of age);
11. (k) Influenza A, novel;
12. (l) Listeriosis;
13. (m) Measles (Rubeola);
14. (n) Meningitis (Neisseria meningitidis);
15. (o) Meningococcal disease, invasive:
16. (p) Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS);
17. (q) Mumps:
18. (r) Pertussis (Whooping cough);

(s) Plague (Yersinia pestis);

(t) Poliovirus infection;

(u) Rabies (animal or human);

(v) Rubella (German measles), including congenital rubella syndrome;

(w) Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS);

(x) Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC);

(y) Smallpox;

(z) Staphylococcal infections in newborns (nosocomial);

(aa) Tularemia;

(bb) Typhoid fever (Salmonella typhi);

(cc) Vibrosis (non-cholera Vibrio species infections);

(dd) Viral hemorrhagic fevers (Ebola or other);

(ee) Yellow fever;

(ff) An outbreak that may be of public health concern (including health care associated and foodborne, as defined in § 299.1); and

(gg) An emerging infectious disease or an unusual occurrence of any disease.

201.2 The following diseases shall be considered communicable diseases for the purpose of communicable disease surveillance and shall be reported to the Director in writing within twenty-four (24) hours after provisional diagnosis or the appearance of suspicious symptoms:

(a) Brucellosis;

(b) Campylobacteriosis;

(c) Chikungunya;

(d) Dengue;

(e) Haemophilus influenza, invasive disease:

(f) Hansen's disease (Leprosy);

(g) Lymphogranuloma venerium (LGV, including atypical LGV);

(h) Meningitis, (aseptic or viral, fungal, and bacterial (other than N. meningitidis));

(i) Psittacosis (Ornithosis);

(j) Q Fever:

(k) School or childcare facility-associated diseases: the following are reportable when there are three (3) or more cases that occur within a seven (7) day period in the school or childcare facility:

(1) Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye);

(2) Gastrointestinal illness;

(3) Hand, foot, and mouth disease;

(4) Head lice;

(5) Impetigo;

(6) Pinworm (Enterobiasis);

(7) Ringworm (Tinea);

(8) Scabies; or

(9) Streptococcal non-invasive, Group A (Scarlet fever and strep throat);

(l) Streptococcal infection, invasive (Pneumococcal disease);

(m) Tetanus; and

(n) Zika virus disease (including congenital Zika virus infection).

201.3 The following diseases shall be considered communicable diseases for the

purpose of communicable disease surveillance and shall be reported to the Director in writing within forty-eight (48) hours after diagnosis or the appearance of suspicious symptoms:

(a) Babesiosis;

(b) Chancroid;

(c) Chickenpox (morbidity, pediatric mortality);

(d) Chlamydia tracomatis infection (including PID, perinatal, and trachoma);

(e) Coccidioidomycosis;

(f) Cryptosporidiosis;

(g) Cyclosporiasis;

(h) Ehrlichiosis;

(i) Giardiasis;

(j) Gonococcal infection;

(k) Granuloma inguinale;

(l) Hepatitis (acute B, C);

(m) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and pregnancies in HIV-infected women);

(n) Kawasaki disease;

(o) Legionellosis;

(p) Leptospirosis;

(q) Lyme Disease (Borrelia Burgdorferi);

(r) Malaria;

(s) Meliodosis;

(t) Powassan virus;

(u) Rickettsiosis, spotted fever (e.g. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever);

(v) Salmonellosis;

(w) Shigellosis;

(x) Syphilis (all stages congenital);

(y) Toxic shock syndrome (Staphylococcal, Streptococcal, and other);

(z) Trichinosis (Trichinellosis);

(aa) Tuberculosis;

(bb) Urethritis, atypical;

(cc) Vaccine adverse events; and

(dd) West Nile virus.

201.4 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) shall be considered a communicable disease for the purpose of communicable disease surveillance and shall be reported electronically to the Department of Health immediately upon a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis using a laboratory antigen test, a nucleic acid amplification test, or a polymerase chain reaction laboratory test.

SOURCE: Commissioners' Order 61-1117 (June 20, 1961), published as Health Regulations at §§ 8-5:101-205; as amended by Commissioners' Order 65-868 (June 22, 1965); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 47 DCR 10209 (December 29, 2000); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 48 DCR 472 (January 19, 2001); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 50 DCR 6169 (August 1, 2003); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 55 DCR 5979 (May 23, 2008); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 56 DCR 848 (January 23, 2009); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 63 DCR 15116 (December 9, 2016); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 011091 (October 22, 2021); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 71 DCR 005422 (May 10, 2024).