Public Health Region 1 Epidemiology and Surveillance

Purpose

PHR 1 routinely collects data on communicable diseases and reports these data to the central office in Austin, Texas. Surveillance data are typically obtained through provider-initiated reports (passive surveillance) or health department-solicited reports (active surveillance). The collection of these data help describe the pattern of disease occurrence in an area and subsequently trigger disease control and prevention efforts. The activities of the Epidemiology and Surveillance section include:

• Collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of communicable disease data
• Disease investigation and assistance with disease control methods

Topics:

Health Alerts, Advisories, and Publications
Reporting Forms and FAQ
Disease FAQ and Education Materials
ILI Surveillance
Annual Notifiable Conditions Report
Epidemiology Contact Information
Links

Health Alerts, Advisories, and Publications

Publications:

To sign up for the Texas Public Health Information Network and receive alerts and updates from the Texas Department of State Health Services, follow this link to the TX PHIN website.

The CDC Health Alert Network provides up-to-date information on health alerts and advisories about urgent public health incidents. To sign up for these notifications, follow this link to the CDC HAN website.

Texas Department of State Health Services news releases can be accessed here.

Reporting Forms and FAQ 
Commonly Asked Reporting Questions:

What is reportable?

All conditions listed on the notifiable conditions list must be reported. In addition to those conditions, any outbreaks, exotic diseases, and unusual expressions of disease must be reported.

All case reports should include name, age, sex, race/ethnicity, date of birth, address, telephone number, disease, date of onset, and method of diagnosis of the patient and name, address, and telephone number of the reporter. A laboratory report must accompany all reports of notifiable conditions in which a diagnosis is based on laboratory confirmation.

Current Notifiable Conditions lIST Report

Texas Notifiable Conditions List (PDF- 468kb)

Who is required to report a notifiable condition?

Healthcare providers, hospitals, laboratories, schools, and others are required to report patients who are suspected of having a notifiable condition, as described in Chapter 97, Title 25, Texas Administrative Code and Health & Safety Code, Chapter 81.

When do I report a notifiable condition?

The notifiable condition list indicates when to report each condition. Cases or suspected cases of illness considered to be public health emergencies, outbreaks, exotic diseases, or unusual group expressions of disease must be reported to your local health department or DSHS HSR1 immediately. Other diseases that require a quick public health response must be reported within one working day. All other conditions should be reported to your local health department or DSHS HSR1 within one week.

Where do I report a notifiable condition?

Contact information for your local health department can be found here. DSHS HSR1 contact information can be found here.

What form do I use to report a notifiable condition?

Use the reporting forms provided below.

Notifiable Conditions Reporting Form (PDF-103k)
Contaminated Sharps Injury Reporting Form (PDF-60k)

Disease FAQ and Education Materials

Disease FAQs
Bed Bugs Fact Sheet (PDF-200k)
Body Lice Fact Sheet (PDF-191k)
Head Lice Fact Sheet (PDF-198k)
Pubic Lice Fact Sheet (PDF-197k)
Scabies Fact Sheet (PDF-196k)

Education Materials
Hand Hygiene - https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/index.html
Cough Etiquette - Respiratory Hygiene/Cough Etiquette in Healthcare Settings | CDC

ILI Surveillance
 

Epidemiology Contact Information

PHR 1 Epidemiology Response Team Contact Information

Links

Texas Department of State Health Services – http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/
DSHS Infectious Disease Control Unit – http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/
DSHS Laboratory - http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/lab/default.shtm
Texas Influenza Surveillance - http://texasflu.org/
Healthcare-Associated Infections – http://haitexas.org
DSHS Public Health Preparedness – Public Health Emergency Preparedness | Texas DSHS
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – http://www.cdc.gov/
CDC Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (Bio-terrorism Information) - https://emergency.cdc.gov/bioterrorism/ 
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry - http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/
Texas Poison Control Network - http://www.poisoncontrol.org/

External links to other sites are intended to be informational and do not have the endorsement of the Department of State Health Services. These links may also not be accessible to persons with disabilities.

If you have comments or suggestions, please contact us.