Several Texas laws (Health & Safety Code, Chapters 81, 84, and 87) require specific information regarding notifiable conditions be provided to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Health care providers, hospitals, laboratories, schools, and others are required to report patients who are suspected of having a notifiable condition (Chapter 97, Title 25, Texas Administrative Code ).

General Instructions

• WHAT: The table below lists notifiable conditions in Texas. In addition to these conditions, any outbreaks, exotic diseases, and unusual group expressions of disease must be reported. All diseases shall be reported by name, age, sex, race/ethnicity, DOB, address, telephone number, disease, date of onset, method of diagnosis, and name, address, and telephone number of physician.


• WHEN: The Reportable Conditions List indicates when to report each condition. Cases or suspected cases of illness considered to be public health emergencies, outbreaks, exotic diseases, and unusual group expressions of disease must be reported to the local health department or DSHS immediately. Other diseases for which there must be a quick public health response must be reported within one working day. All other conditions must be reported to the local health department or DSHS within one week.


• HOW: Most notifiable conditions, or other illnesses that may be of public health significance, should be reported directly to the local or health service regions. Paper reporting forms can be obtained by calling your local or health service region or by download (Epi-2 for more detailed single case medical care provider reports or Epi-1 for less detailed multiple reports). As a last resort or in case of emergency, reports can be made by telephone to the state office at 800-252-8239 or 512-458-7111. Calling 512-458-7111 after hours will reach the physician/epidemiologist-on-call.

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Special Instructions

• Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) should only be reported once following the initial physician diagnosis. The report date, type and results of tests including a CD4 + T lymphocyte cell count below 200 cells per microliter/percentage < 14% mustalso be included with the report.


• Chancroid, Chlamydia trachomatis infection, gonorrhea, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and syphilis reports must also include the report date, type and results of tests, including a CD4 + T lymphocyte cell count below 200 cells per microliter/percentage < 14% for HIV infection.


• Meningitis types include aseptic/viral, bacterial (specify etiology), fungal, parasitic, and other.


• Invasive streptococcal disease, invasive meningococcal infection, or invasive Haemophilius influenzae type b infections refers to isolates from normally sterile sites and includes meningitis, septicemia, cellulitis, epiglottitis, osteomyelitis, pericarditis, septic arthritis, and necrotizing fasciitis.

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Laboratories

Laboratory Services Section Forms, Including G-2A and G-2B

Laboratories, blood banks, mobile units, and other facilities in which a laboratory examination of a blood specimen is made are required to report patients with a CD4 + T lymphocyte cell count below 200 cells per microliter or CD4 + T lymphocyte percentage less than 14%.

Laboratories, blood banks, mobile units, and other facilities in which a laboratory examination of a blood specimen is made are required to report patients with a CD4 + T lymphocyte cell count below 200 cells per microliter or CD4 + T lymphocyte percentage less than 14%.

Immediately report isolates of vancomycin intermediate and resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) and (VRSA) by calling (800) 252-8239 or faxing (512) 458-7616. Isolates of VISA and VRSA shall be submitted to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Laboratory Services Section, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, Texas 78756-3199. All reports of VISA and VRSA shall include patient name; date of birth or age; sex; city of submitter; anatomic site of culture; date of culture; and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) if available.

Laboratories shall submit pure cultures of all Bacillus anthracis, Clostridium botulinum, Brucella species, E. coli 0157:H7, isolates or specimens from cases where Shiga-toxin activity is demonstrated, Listeria monocytogenes, Neisseria meningitidisfrom normally sterile sites, Yersinia pestis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Francisella tularensis, Staphylococcus aureus with a vancomycin MIC greater than 2 µg/mL (VISA and VRSA), and Vibrio species accompanied by a current department Specimen Submission Form to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Laboratory Services Section, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756-3199.

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NOTIFIABLE CONDITIONS

A - L	When to Report	L - Y	When to Report
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)1,2	Within 1 week	Leishmaniasis3	Within 1 week
Amebiasis3	Within 1 week	Listeriosis3,4	Within 1 week
Anthrax3,4	Call immediately	Lyme disease3	Within 1 week
Arbovirus infection3,5	Within 1 week	Malaria3	Within 1 week
Asbestosis6	Within 1 week	Measles (rubeola)3	Call Immediately
Botulism, foodborne3,4	Call immediately	Meningitis (specify type)3	Within 1 week
Botulism, infant, wound, and other3,4	Within 1 week	Meningococcal infections, invasive3,4	Call Immediately
Brucellosis3,4	Within 1 work day	Mumps3	Within 1 week
Campylobacteriosis3	Within 1 week	Pertussis3	Within 1 work day
Cancer7	See rules7	Pesticide poisoning,acute occupatonal6	Within 1 week
Chancroid1	Within 1 week	Plague3	Call immediately
Chickenpox (varicella)8	Within 1 week	Poliomyelitis, acute parlytic3	Call immediately
Chlamydia trachomitis infection 1	Within 1 week	Q fever3	Within 1 work day
Contaminated sharps injury 9	Within 1 month	Rabies, human3	Call immediately
Controlled substance overdose10	Call immediately10	Relapsing fever3	Within 1 week
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) 3	Within 1 week	Rubella (including congenital) 3	Within 1 work day
Cryptosporidiosis3	Within 1 week	Salmonellosis, including typhoid fever3	Within 1 week
Cyclosporiasis3	Within 1 week	Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)3	Call immediately
Cysticercosis3	Within 1 week	Shigellosis3	Within 1 week
Dengue3	Within 1 week	Silicosis 6	Within 1 week
Diphtheria3	Call immediately	Smallpox3	Call immediately
Drowning/near drowning 11	Within 10 work days	Spinal cord injury11	Within 10 work days
Ehrlichiosis 3	Within 1 week	Spotted fever group rickettsioses 3	Within 1 week
Encephalitis (specify etiology)3	Within 1 week	Staph. aureus, vancomycin-resistant (VISA and VRSA)3,4	Call immediately
Escherichia coli, enterohemorrhagic 3,4	Within 1 week	Streptococcal disease (group A, B, S. pneumo), invasive3	Within 1 week
Gonorrhea 1	Within 1 week	Syphilis1	Within 1 week
Haemophilus influenzaetybe b infections, invasive3	Call immediately	Taenia solium and undifferentiated Taenia infection3	Within 1 week
Hansen's disease (leprosy)3	Within 1 week	Tetanus3	Within 1 week
Hantavirus infection 3	Within 1 week	Traumatic brain injury11	Within 10 work days
Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS)3	Within 1 week	Trichinosis	Within 1 week
Hepatitis A (acute)3	Within 1 work day	Tuberculosis (includes all M. tuberculosis complex)12	Within 1 work day
Hepatitis B, C, D, E, and unspecified (acute)3	Within 1 week	Tularemia 3,4	Call immediately
Hepatitis B identified prenatally or at delivery (acute & chronic)3	Within 1 work day	Typhus3	Within 1 week
Hepatitis B, preinatal (HBsAg+<24 months old) 3	Within 1 week	Vibrio infection, including cholera3,4	Within 1 work day
Human immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV)infection 1,2	Within 1 week	Viral hemorrhagic fever, including Ebola3	Call immediately
Influenza-related pediatric mortality3	Within 1 work day	West Nile Fever3	Within 1 week
Lead, child blood, any level & adult blood, any level 6	Call immediately	Yellow Fever3	Call immediately
Legionellosis3	Within 1 week	Yersiniosis3,4	Within 1 week
In addition to specified reportable conditions, any outbreak, exotic disease, or unusual group expression of disease that may be of public health concern should be reported by the most expeditious means available.

¹ Please refer to specific rules and regulations for reporting and who to report to at: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/hivstd/reporting/default.shtm
² Labs conducting confirmatory HIV testing are requested to send remaining specimen to a CDC-designated laboratory. Please call 512-533-3041 for details.
³ Reporting forms are available at: http//www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/investigation/forms. Investigation forms at: http//www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/investigation/. Call as indicated for immediately reportable conditions.
⁴ Lab isolate must be sent to DSHS lab. Call 512-458-7598 for specimen submission information
⁵ Reportable Arbovirus infections include neuroinvasive and non-neuroinvasive Cache Valley, California serogroup, Eastern Equine (EEE), Dengue, Powassan, St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE), Venezuelan equine (VEE), West Nile, and Western Equine (WEE)
⁶ Please refer to specific rules and regulations for reporting and who to report to at: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/epitox/default.shtm
⁷ Please refer to specific rules and regulations for reporting and who to report to at: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/tcr/lawrules.shtm
⁸ Varicella reporting form is at: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/health/vaccine_preventable_diseases/forms/f11_11046.pdf. Call local health dept for copy with their fax number.
⁹ Not applicable to private facilities. Initial reporting forms for Contaminated Sharps at: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/health/bloodborne_pathogens/reporting/
¹⁰ Contact local poison center at 1-800-222-1222. For instructions, forms, and fax numbers see:http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/epidemiology/epipoison.shtm
¹¹ Please refer to specific rules and regulations for reporting and who to report to at: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/injury/default.shtm
¹² Please refer to specific rules and regulations for reporting and who to report to at http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/disease/tb/

Call Immediately 24/7 Phone Numbers Information for your local or regional health department can be found at: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/regions/default.shtm Department or State Health Services Business Hours 1-800-252-8239/ After Hours Physician On Call 512-458-7111

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