Section 5 - Nevada Public Health | The Office of State Epidemiology

Section 5

Communicable Disease Reporting and Management

A. Communicable Disease Reporting

Good communication among healthcare providers, childcare providers, school health staff, parents/guardians, and the health department plays a major role in preventing the spread of communicable diseases. It is important that parents/guardians let childcare providers and/or school health staff know whenever their children are diagnosed with a communicable disease. Childcare providers and school health staff should check with the local or state health department to find out if any special control measures are needed when informed of a child or staff member who has a communicable disease.

1. Nevada reporting rule

Per NRS 441A.190, schools, child care, medical, and correctional facilities and NRS 441A.150, requires health care providers, medical facilities, and laboratories, to report any suspicions of, or known cases of, communicable diseases.

The general requirements for reporting communicable diseases and a complete list of diseases that must be reported if identified can be found in NAC 441A.225.

In general, a report of the case, or suspected case, of the communicable disease must be made to the health authority during business hours of the first working day after the case or suspected case of disease is identified.

*Use the “Confidential Case Report Form” found via the URL below to report diseases in Washoe County.

Report A Case

Childcare providers and school health staff are required to report diseases to the health department per federal law, see §164.512 Uses and disclosures for which an authorization or opportunity to agree or object is not required. You do not need to worry about privacy issues or confidentiality when you make a report to the health authority. Healthcare providers, laboratories, and others are also required to report. Some communicable diseases can be very serious, so it is important that you call right away, even if you think that someone else may have already made a report. Check Nevada State Law, Chapter 441A website for any changes in the disease reporting rule.

2. Reportable Disease List

Amebiasis (Entamoeba
histolytica/dispar)
Anaplasmosis
Anthrax
Arboviral disease
Babesiosis
Blastomycosis
Botulism
Brucellosis
Campylobacteriosis
Cat scratch disease
Chancroid
Chlamydia
Cholera
Coccidioidomycosis
Cryptosporidiosis
Cyclosporiasis
Dengue virus infection
Diphtheria
Diphyllobothrium latum
Ehrlichiosis
Encephalitis (caused by viral agents)
Enterobacter sakazakii
Enteric E. coli infection
Giardiasis
Gonorrhea
Haemophilus influenzae disease (all invasive disease)
Hantavirus infection
Hemolytic uremic syndrome
Hepatitis (all viral types)
Histoplasmosis
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection including Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
Influenza (unusual case incidence, critical
illness, or laboratory confirmed cases)
Kawasaki disease
Kingella spp.
Legionellosis
Leprosy (Hansen’s disease)
Leptospirosis
Listeriosis
Lyme disease
Malaria
Measles
Meningitis (caused by viral agents)
Meningococcal disease (Neisseria meningitidis)
Mumps
Neonatal Sepsis
Orthopox virus
Pertussis
Plague
Poliomyelitis
Psittacosis
Q fever
Rabies
Retrovirus infections (other than HIV)
Reye syndrome
Rheumatic fever
Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Rubella and congenital rubella
Salmonellosis (including typhoid)
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
Includes SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)
Shigellosis
Smallpox
Staphylococcus aureus (special situations involving vancomycin resistance or death or critical illness in an otherwise healthy individual)
Streptococcal disease (invasive disease)
Syphilis
Tetanus
Toxic shock syndrome
Toxoplasmosis
Transmissible spongiform
encephalopathy
Trichinosis
Tuberculosis
Tularemia
Typhus
Unexplained deaths and unexplained critical illness (possibly due to an infectious cause)
Varicella-zoster disease (primary (chickenpox) and recurrent (shingles))
Vibrio spp.
Yellow fever
Yersiniosis

3. Reports from parents/guardians

Parents/guardians can also help to stop the spread of communicable diseases by telling the childcare provider or school health staff whenever their children are diagnosed with a communicable disease*. The childcare provider or school health staff then can watch other children for symptoms, notify all the parents/guardians, and check with the health department to see if anything else needs to be done. The sooner everyone is notified, the faster control measures can be started, and the spread of disease can be reduced or stopped.

*In Nevada parents/guardians are required to notify the childcare of a reportable disease within 24 hours.

4. Reports from staff

Childcare or school staff who are diagnosed with a reportable disease are responsible for letting the person in charge of the childcare facility or school health office know about the diagnosis.

5. Reports to local/state health department

Cases of reportable communicable diseases should be reported to your local health department or to the Nevada State Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH). When you call to report a disease, please have the following information ready:

Name of disease
Person’s name, birth date, address, parent or guardian’s name and phone number(s)
Date of onset of symptoms
Symptoms the child is experiencing (e.g., cough, diarrhea, vomiting, rash, etc.)
Healthcare provider’s name and phone number
Immunization dates (depending on the illness)

The health department staff person taking the report will advise you if you need to take any specific control measures.

6. Local and state health department disease prevention and control resources in Nevada

If you have a communicable disease question, please try to contact your local public health department first. If your local public health department is not listed or is not available within a reasonable amount of time, contact the DPBH at (775) 684-5911; for after-hours emergencies: (775) 400-0333

Local Health Departments and Nursing Services Telephone Numbers

Carson City Health & Human Services (775) 887-2190

Churchill Community Health Nurse (775) 423-4434

Humboldt County Community Health Nurse (775) 623-6575

Lincoln County Community Health (775) 962-8086

Lyon County –

Dayton Community Health Nurse (775) 246-6211
Fernley Community Health Nurse (775) 575-3363
Silver Springs Community Health Nurse (775) 577-0319
Yerington Community Health Nurse (775) 463-6539

Mineral County Community Health Nurse (775) 945-3657

Nye County –

Pahrump Community Health Nurse (775) 751-7070
Tonopah Community Health Nurse (775) 482-6659

Pershing County Community Health Nurse (775) 273-2041

Southern Nevada Health District (702) 759-1000

Northern Nevada Public Health (775) 328-2400

White Pine Community Health Nurse (775) 293-6558

Nevada State Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH)

Normal Hours: (775) 684-5911

After-Hours (Emergency Only): (775) 400-0333

Many counties in Nevada do not have a dedicated health authority. If this is the case for your location, contact the Nevada State Health Division.

For more information, please contact your local health department.

Southern Nevada Health District (Clark County) 775-759-1300 (24 hours)

Northern Nevada Public Health (Washoe County) 775-328-2447 (24 hours)

Carson City Health & Human Services (Carson City, Douglas, Lyon Counties) 775-887-2190 (24 hours)

Division of Public and Behavioral Health (All other Counties) 775-400-0333 (24 hours)

Email: dpbhepi@health.nv.gov

B. Control and Management of Communicable Disease Exposures and Outbreaks

State and local health departments are required by law (NRS 441A.160) to investigate take measures for the prevention, suppression, and control of certain communicable diseases. Exposures and outbreaks of communicable diseases in childcare settings and schools can result in spread to the general community. Early recognition, reporting, and intervention will reduce the spread of infection.

Section I includes the exclusion policies for children in childcare/preschool and schools. When the child enrolls in childcare or school, parents/guardians should be given a list of exclusion policies and given notice whenever these policies change. Some childcare facilities or schools may have this information in a student handbook or on their websites. These policies are useful to reference when exposures or outbreaks occur.

Section V-1 contains information on what diseases are reportable in Nevada, what information is needed when a report is made to the local or state health department, and a list of local and state health department disease prevention and control resources in Nevada.

When a communicable disease of public health importance or an outbreak of illness in a childcare setting or school is reported to the local or state health department, the health department will investigate the situation. Specific prevention and control measures will be recommended to reduce spread to others. These measures require the cooperation of the parents/guardians, child caregivers, children, school staff, healthcare providers, childcare health consultants, and environmental health inspectors. In these situations, recommendations made by the health department may include (when applicable):

When and how to notify parents/guardians, childcare providers, school health staff, and healthcare providers of the problem.
Appropriate preventive measures to implement.
Exclusion of infected children and/or staff.
Interviews of parents/guardians and staff regarding onset date and type of symptoms.
Collection of specimens.
Administration of antibiotics, vaccine, or immune globulin.
Review of cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting, and hand washing procedures.
Review of food preparation or storage procedures.

Childcare providers and school health staff should be aware that these situations can be very stressful for everyone concerned. Cooperation and good communication help relieve some of this stress.

1.Reports to local or state health department

Childcare providers or school health staff should notify the local or state health department as soon as an outbreak is suspected. Doing so can reduce the length of the outbreak and the amount of activity required to bring it under control.

2.Notification of parents/guardians and childcare or school staff

In this manual there are fact sheets intended to be a reference for providers/staff. The PARENT/GUARDIAN fact sheets are written so the information would be easy to communicate to parents/guardians.

The PARENT/GUARDIAN fact sheets contain information to let parents/guardians know what types of symptoms to look for and what prevention/control measures need to be taken to protect the healthy and shorten the duration of illness. This manual contains fact sheets on most communicable diseases you would expect to see in childcare or school settings. It is recommended that you either:

Post the appropriate PARENT/GUARDIAN fact sheet, or
Send home the appropriate PARENT/GUARDIAN fact sheet to each parent/guardian.
For a REPORTABLE DISEASE, you need to consult the local or state health department before posting or distributing the Parent/Guardian fact sheet.

Many times, getting accurate information from the health department reassures parents/guardians that the situation is being closely followed and that efforts are being made to prevent further spread.

DO NOT post or distribute fact sheets for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV infection, Lyme Disease, or bedbugs. Consult with your local or state health department if you have questions or a situation occurs.

3.Line List

A line list is a tool that can be used when the childcare or school reports an increase of illness. It is a standardized way to collect data to determine the presence, magnitude, and duration of an outbreak. In a line listing, each column represents an important variable, such as name, age, and symptoms present, while each row represents a single different case. New cases are added as they are identified. A blank line list template will be provided to schools upon identification of a suspected or confirmed gastrointestinal illness outbreak to update and complete for submission to your school’s local health authority. Epidemiology can modify this tool to collect data on respiratory infections, skin infections, or for other situations.