Communicable Diseases
Reportable Disease Information
Emergency Preparedness
Contacts
To help promote and protect the health of our community, the Clackamas County Community Health Division’s epidemiology team investigates individual cases and outbreaks of reported communicable diseases. “Communicable diseases” are those conditions that can be spread to others through air, touch or contact with contaminated body fluids. Some of the most common communicable diseases include chlamydia, hepatitis A, B and C, giardia, salmonella, pertussis and campylobacter. It’s not only important to be treated for infection, it is necessary for the health department to track communicable diseases in order to prevent disease outbreaks.
Diseases that the health department keeps track of are called “reportable.” All physicians, healthcare providers and laboratory personnel are required by law to submit reportable disease information to their local health department. There are currently over 50 communicable diseases that are reportable in Oregon.
When cases of communicable disease are found, the CCCH CD staff conduct confidential investigations to determine the source of the infection. Some diseases are spread via talking, coughing and sneezing, while others are spread through contaminated water, food, blood and/or sexual contact. All communicable diseases must be investigated thoroughly to prevent the spread of disease.
In addition to tracking and monitoring communicable diseases, the Communicable Disease team works to control and contain the spread of diseases, monitor disease trends, and provide current statistics and other information to doctors, hospitals, the public and the media. We also provide education and preventive treatment.
Reportable Diseases – It’s the law
All Oregon physicians and other healthcare providers are required to report cases of specific reportable diseases to their local health department (OAR 333-018). Reporting makes it possible to provide the appropriate public health follow-up for patients, helps identify outbreaks and provides a better understanding of Oregon health patterns. Follow-up investigation for all reportable communicable diseases is done by Registered Nurses. Special attention will be given to schools and day care facilities.
Call (503) 655-8411 to report a communicable disease at any hour. Hearing impaired, Speech impaired or Deaf TTY 1-800-735-2900 (Relay).
We will respond to most after-hours communicable disease calls the next business day. However, an emergency response will be activated for urgent situations.
All Oregon physicians and other healthcare providers are required to report cases of specific reportable diseases to their local health department.
Diseases that require reporting by a medical provider:
Immediately, day or night
- Any known or suspected common-source outbreak
- Any case of uncommon illness of potential public health significance
- Anthrax
- Botulism (food borne)
- Diphtheria
- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and infection by SARS-coronavirus
- Plague
- intoxication caused by marine microorganisms or their byproducts (for example, paralytic shellfish poisoning, domoic acid intoxication, ciguatera, scombroid)
Within 24 Hours, including weekends and holidays
- Haemophilus influenzae (any invasive disease)
- Measles
- Meningococcal disease
- Pesticide poisoning
- Polio
- Rabies (animal or human)
- Rubella
- Vibrio (all species, including cholerae)
Within One Local Public Health Authority Working Day
- Bordetella pertussis (pertussis);
- Borrelia (relapsing fever, Lyme disease);
- Brucella (brucellosis);
- Campylobacter (campylobacteriosis);
- Chlamydophila (Chlamydia) psittaci (psittacosis);
- Chlamydia trachomatis (chlamydiosis; lymphogranuloma venereum);
- Clostridium tetani (tetanus)
- Coxiella burnetii (Q fever);
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
- Cryptosporidium (cryptosporidiosis);
- Cyclospora cayetanensis (cyclosporidiosis);
- Escherichia coli (Shiga-toxigenic, including E. coli O157 and other serogroups);
- Francisella tularensis (tularemia);
- Giardia (giardiasis);
- Haemophilus ducreyi (chancroid);
- hantavirus
- hepatitis A;
- hepatitis B (acute or chronic infection);
- hepatitis C
- hepatitis D (delta);
- HIV infection (does not apply to anonymous testing) and AIDS;
- Legionella (legionellosis);
- Leptospira (leptospirosis);
- Listeria monocytogenes (listeriosis);
- Mumps
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. bovis (tuberculosis);
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonococcal infections);
- pelvic inflammatory disease (acute, non-gonococcal)
- Plasmodium (malaria);
- Rickettsia (all species: Rocky Mountain spotted fever, typhus, others);
- Salmonella (salmonellosis, including typhoid);
- Shigella (shigellosis);
- Taenia solium (including cysticercosis and other undifferentiated Taeniainfections
- Treponema pallidum (syphilis);
- Trichinella (trichinosis);
- Yersinia (other than pestis);
- any infection that is typically arthropod vector-borne (for example: Western equine encephalitis, Eastern equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, dengue, West Nile fever, yellow fever, California encephalitis, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, Kyasanur Forest disease, Colorado tick fever, etc.);
- human bites by any other mammal;
- CD4 cell count <200/ml (mm3) or CD4 proportion of total lymphocytes <14%;
- hemolytic uremic syndrome.
Within Seven Days
- Suspected Lead Poisoning (for laboratories, this includes all blood lead tests performed on persons with suspected lead poisoning)
Health Emergency Preparedness
Public Health staff regularly plan and practice to respond to outbreaks of disease in the county. The Health Officer and Incident Response Team can be mobilized at any time, day or night. Staff work closely with the Clackamas County Emergency Management office to prepare for a coordinated, effective response to incidents with the potential to affect the health of our residents.
For more information about how you can prepare for emergencies, visit theClackamas County Emergency Preparedness site.
Contacts
To report a communicable disease, call (503) 655-8411 at any hour.
- Leslie Anderson, RN, BSN
Nurse Epidemiologist
Vaccine Preventable Diseases
503-742-5374
[email protected] - Joan Derry, RN, BSN
Nurse Epidemiologist
Tuberculosis Control, Sexually Transmitted Infection Control
503-655-8316
[email protected] - Jan Rodriguez, RN, BSN
Nurse Epidemiologist
Communicable Disease Control, Pediatric Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
503-742-5386
[email protected] - Steve Dahl, REHS
CD/Environmental Health Manager
503-655-8384
[email protected]
