Report infectious diseases
Reporting to Public Health: What, when, and how
Below is a complete list of documentation that outlines reportable diseases with acceptable reporting methods and timeframes. Some diseases must be reported immediately by phone or electronic transmission. Other diseases must be reported within one working day of identification or within seven calendar days of identification.
- List of reportable diseases and conditions - Title 17, California Code of Regulations §2500, §2593, §2641.5- 2643.20, and §2800-2812
- List of reportable conditions: Notifications by Laboratories to Public Health – Title 17, California Code of Regulations §2505
- Guidance for reporting SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus, and respiratory syncytial virus multiplex test results
- Letter to laboratories regarding SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus reporting
- Letter to healthcare providers and laboratories regarding reporting of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, Candida auris, and Carbapenemase-producing organisms
For additional information on disease reporting, visit the California Department of Health (CDPH) Reportable Diseases and Conditions webpage.
For a list of reportable diseases for animal patients, see the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s List of Reportable Conditions for Animals and Animal Products.
Who is required to report a communicable disease?
All groups below are required to report independent of one another. For example, if a provider knows that a lab has already reported a disease, the provider is still required to report the disease.
Reporters | Code of regulations |
Medical doctors, osteopaths, podiatrists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, nurse midwives, infection control practitioners, medical examiners, coroners, dentists, and administrators of health facilities and clinics with two or more health care providers | 17 Cal. Code Regs. §2500 |
General acute care hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities, and home health agencies | 22 Cal. Code Regs. §§ 70737, 71535, 72537, 73533, and 74725 |
Laboratories | 17 Cal. Code Regs. §2505 |
Veterinarians | 17 Cal. Code Regs. §2500; 3 Cal. Code Regs. §797 |
Anyone in charge of a public or private school, kindergarten, boarding school, preschool, or childcare facility licensed by CDSS | 17 Cal. Code Regs. §2508; 22 Cal. Code Regs. §101212 |
Most licensed facilities subject to Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations must, at minimum, report outbreaks or unusual occurrences of disease | 22 Cal. Code Regs. |
The Privacy Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) allows for communicable disease reporting as part of permitted disclosures for public health activities (45 CFS 164.512 (b)). No consent or authorization is required.
How to report
Most cases of reportable disease can be reported to the Public Health Department via fillable forms submitted by electronic transmission (CalREDIE or electronic Confidential Morbidity Report Web Form), phone, or fax. Certain diseases must be reported by phone.
Reporting options:
- Report via CalREDIE*
- Submit the Confidential Morbidity Report (CMR) Web Form
- Fax the Confidential Morbidity Report (CMR) PDF Form to (408) 885-3709
- Call (408) 885-4214
Reporting options:
- Report via CalREDIE*
- Call (408) 792-3739
- Fax HIV/AIDS Confidential Case Report Form(s) to (408) 792-3722
- Mail HIV/AIDS Confidential Case Report Form(s) using double envelopes to:
- Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Program
Attention: HIV Surveillance
976 Lenzen Avenue
Suite 1800
San Jose, CA 95126
- Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Program
Forms:
- Adult HIV/AIDS Confidential Case Report Form - For patients age 13 or older at time of diagnosis; see instructions for filling out the form from the California Department of Public Health.
- Pediatric HIV/AIDS Confidential Case Report Form - For patients age 12 or under at time of diagnosis.
Reporting options:
- Call (408) 885-2440
- Fax form(s) to (408) 885-2331
- Email form(s) to [email protected]
Forms:
- Report TB disease (aka active TB):
- Tuberculosis Confidential Morbidity Report (CMR) PDF Form - Report outpatients with suspected or confirmed tuberculosis.
- GOTCH (Tuberculosis Report/Readmission/Transfer/Discharge Plan) Form - Report hospitalized patients with suspected or confirmed tuberculosis. Health care facilities, including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and nursing homes, and correctional facilities use this form to report, transfer and discharge inpatients. You can use the same GOTCH form you used to make the initial report and update it to request discharge approval later.
- Report Latent TB Infection (LTBI) in high-risk situations:
- Tuberculosis Confidential Morbidity Report (CMR) PDF Form - Report children under age two or people who work or live in a health care setting with Latent TB Infection (LTBI).
- Latent TB Infection Confidential Morbidity Report (CMR) Form for Civil Surgeons - Report civil surgeon patients with Latent TB Infection (LTBI).
For more information on reporting tuberculosis, refer to the Report suspected or confirmed tuberculosis cases webpage.
Reporting options:
- Report via CalREDIE*
- Submit the Confidential Morbidity Report (CMR) Web Form
- Fax form(s) to (408) 792-1304
- Call (408) 970-2830
Forms:
- Perinatal Hepatitis B Prevention Program Patient Information Form - Primary and prenatal care providers may use this form to report pregnant and post-partum people who test positive for HBsAg.
- Notification of HBsAg-exposed Infant or Child - Infant care providers should use this form to report a HBsAg-exposed infant or child.
- Hospital Report Form - Delivery hospitals should use this form to report a HBsAg-positive delivery.
Reporting options:
- Report via CalREDIE*
- Fax the Lapses of consciousness or control, Alzheimer's, or other conditions that may impair the ability to safely operate a motor vehicle form to (408) 885-3709
- Call (408) 885-4214
Reporting options:
- Report via CalREDIE*
- Fax the Confidential Morbidity Report (CMR) for Animal Patients form to (408) 885-3709
- Call (408) 885-4214
See the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s list of reportable animal diseases.
**Information in this section is not exhaustive. Refer to table 1 for a complete list of reportable diseases.
COVID-19 reporting to County of Santa Clara
This section outlines requirements to report COVID-19 to the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department.
Local reporting requirement | Reporting method |
MIS-C: Providers must submit the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome Associated with COVID-19 Case Report Form for all MIS-C cases. Please see instructions on the CDPH MIS-C webpage. Outbreaks: Report all outbreaks of COVID-19 (as defined by CDPH). Providers may also contact the PHD’s Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Program at (408) 885-4214 to request outbreak response guidance. |
|
Local reporting requirement | Reporting method |
Laboratories shall report all positive COVID-19 tests. | Electronically via CalREDIE* |
Refer to the Disease reporting and exposure notices for schools and childcare webpage for school and childcare reporting requirements.
Local reporting requirement | Reporting method |
Shelters should promptly notify the Public Health Department when they have ≥3 suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases among staff and residents combined within a 7-day period. | Shared Portal for Outbreak Tracking (SPOT) |
*CalREDIE (California Reportable Disease Information Exchange) can be used by health care providers, administrators and/or laboratories to securely submit reports to Public Health and comply with statewide regulatory requirements. Providers and Administrators can report electronically via CalREDIE (California Reportable Disease Information Exchange) Provider Portal (PP) to comply with provider disease reporting requirements as outlined in Title 17 CCR §2500. Laboratories must report to CalREDIE or to a system that is linked to CalREDIE via Electronic Lab Reporting (ELR) to comply with laboratory reporting requirements as outlined in Title 17 CCR § 2505.
Additional resources
The following instructions apply to all PDF CMR Forms for human patients:
- On first line of form, write the disease. Complete the patient's name, address, date of birth, phone number, and gender. Social security numbers are not necessary.
- Identify the whether the patient is pregnant, and if so, the estimated delivery date.
- On the far right, enter the patient's ethnicity and race, if known.
- On the center left, enter the date of onset and date of diagnosis. Enter the date of death if applicable.
- In the center of the form, complete the Reporting Health Care Provider section. Please include phone and fax numbers.
- The lower half of the page asks for additional information about sexually transmitted diseases, viral hepatitis, and tuberculosis.
- For hepatitis B or C, note whether the infection is chronic or acute.
- For syphilis, include signs and symptoms to support syphilis staging and doses and dates of treatment administered.
- In the Remarks section, enter the site of infection and medical record number, if applicable.
- If pertinent lab reports are available, please send them along with the CMR.
- Please be as complete as possible when entering information.
How to report cases
Do you have an existing SPOT account linked to the location you are reporting for? | Take this action |
No | Submit a SPOT intake form to report case information. |
Yes |
|
County reporting requirements will not be fully met until you submit case information for all positive individuals involved in the suspected outbreak.
Resources for reporting to SPOT
- For detailed instructions on submitting to SPOT, see SPOT Help and Training Material.
- For technical assistance with submission of SPOT Intake Forms (for example, login or password assistance), please contact the SPOT Help Desk at [email protected] or (916) 520-1619.