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Veterinary Responsibilities in Disease Reporting
Public health agencies are charged with preventing disease and injury in humans. One of
the keystones of disease prevention is the reporting of certain diseases by physicians,
veterinarians, and other health professionals.
According to state law,
(Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 81.042) (PDF) Texas veterinarians shall report, after the first professional encounter, an animal examined that has or is suspected of having a reportable disease. Many of the communicable diseases that affect humans are zoonotic; therefore, the role of the veterinarian in disease reporting cannot be overemphasized.
Community-level disease surveillance and prevention activities are placed under the
domain of government because private enterprises often do not see these functions as being
cost effective. The agency assigned with these responsibilities is the Texas Department of
Health. Within this public health purview, the Department tries to be cognizant of the
time and resource constraints of private practitioners and is committed to making the
reporting of noticeable diseases in animals as accessible as possible.
According to Section 97.3(b) of the Texas Administrative Code, Communicable Diseases:
"Clinically diagnosed or laboratory-confirmed animal cases of the
following diseases are reportable: anthrax, arboviral encephalitis, Mycobacterium
tuberculosis infection in animals other than those housed in research facilities, plague,
and psittacosis. Also, all non-negative rabies tests performed on animals from Texas at
laboratories located outside of Texas shall be reported; all non-negative rabies tests
performed in Texas will be reported by the laboratory conducting the testing. In addition
to individual case reports, any outbreak, exotic disease, or unusual group expression of
disease which may be of public health concern should be reported by the most
expeditious means."
How do I report to the Texas Department of State Health Services?
Last Updated: Saturday, October 01, 2005
Texas Department of State Health Services - Infectious Disease Control Unit
1100 West 49th Street, Suite T801, Mail Code: 1960 PO BOX 149347 - Austin, TX 78714-9347 (512) 458-7676 - Fax: (512) 458-7616 -
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