Communicable Disease Reporting

Ashtabula County Health Department follows-up on cases of reportable infectious disease as well as conducts  disease outbreak investigations. Reports of suspected and confirmed cases of disease and outbreaks should be  made to the local health jurisdiction of the caseʼs residence or location of outbreak. To report diseases or outbreaks  in Ashtabula County, please call (440) 576-6010, option # 2, or confidential fax to Ashtabula County Health  Department at (440) 576-3378. The following reporting form can be opened, filled out electronically, and  faxed to us at (440) 576-3378, or it can printed and filled out by hand, then faxed, or mailed to us at 12 W.  Jefferson Street, Jefferson OH 44047 

The level of urgency and method of reporting varies depending on the disease classification.

Please refer to the Reportable Infectious Diseases in Ohio guide or effective October 1, 2025, here.

CLASS A – Report By Telephone Immediately

Ohio laws require that the following diseases must be reported by telephone to the local

health department with jurisdiction where the case resides.

 • Anthrax

 • Botulism, Foodborne

 • Cholera

 • Diptheria

 • Influenza A – Novel Virus

 • Measles

 • Meningococcal Disease

 • Plague

 • Rabies, Human

 • Rubella (not congenital)

 • SARS

 • Smallpox

 • Tuleremia

 • Viral Hemorrhagic

 • Yellow Fever

As well as any unexpected pattern of cases, suspected cases, deaths or increased incidence of any other disease of

 major public health concern, because of the severity of disease or potential for epidemic spread, which may indicate a newly recognized infectious agent, outbreak, epidemic, related public health hazard or act of

 bioterrorism.

Call your physicianʼs office or hospital. Or it can be reported after normal business hours by FAX – (440) 576

3378 or dialing (440) 576-6010 option # 2.

 CLASS B (1) – Report by the end of the next business day

The existence of a case, a suspected case, or a positive laboratory result is known for diseases of public health

concern needing timely response because of potential for epidemic spread

CLASS B (2) – Report by the end of the work week

The existence of a case, a suspected case, or a positive laboratory result is known for diseases of significant public

health concern.

 CLASS C – Report by the end of the next business day

Outbreaks: Community, Food borne, Healthcare – associated, Institutional, Waterborne, Zoonotic

 HIV or STDs – Contact the Ashtabula County Health Department, Nursing Division at 440-576-6010 option #2.

Communicable Disease Fact Sheets

Below are various links to fact sheets on Communicable Diseases.   You may  also acquire any

disease information by going to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at    

www.cdc.gov

Communicable Disease Fact Sheets

Below are various links to fact sheets on Communicable Diseases.   You may  also acquire any

disease information by going to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at    

www.cdc.gov

Lead Poisoning – Myths and Facts

Meningitis

MRSA

Ohio Disease Reporting System

The Ohio Disease Reporting System (ODRS) provides real-time secured access for state and local public health practitioners to report infectious diseases. ODRS allows local health departments with jurisdictional responsibility and relevant ODH program staff to have immediate access to infectious disease reports on a 24/7/365 basis for disease control and disease surveillance purposes. This assures cases of significant public health importance receive immediate attention and public health response. Infection preventionists, individual health care providers and laboratories can also become ODRS users for infectious disease reporting purposes.

ODRS is used by local health departments (LHDs) to report infectious diseases to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). Class A diseases should also be reported to ODH immediately by phone.

EpiCenter

EpiCenter is Ohioʼs statewide syndromic surveillance system used by state and local public health agencies to detect, track and characterize health events such as pandemic influenza,overdoses, outbreaks, environmental exposures and potential bioterrorism in real-time. The

system gathers de-identified information on patient symptoms and automatically alerts public health when an unusual pattern or trend is occurring.

FoodCORE

Ohio is one of 10 centers participating in the Foodborne Diseases Centers for Outbreak Response Enhancement (FoodCORE) project. FoodCORE centers are funded by CDC to work together to develop new and better methods to detect, investigate, respond to and control multistate outbreaks of foodborne diseases.

Although efforts are primarily focused on outbreaks caused by bacteria including Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Listeria, the ability to detect and investigate viral and parasitic foodborne disease outbreaks is also being enhanced and strengthened. Through FoodCORE, the Ohio Department of Healthʼs Outbreak Response and Bioterrorism Investigation Team (ORBIT) provides interview support to 76 local health jurisdictions through cooperative agreements. ORBIT also works to improve Ohioʼs capacity to track, investigate,diagnose and control illnesses.

NORS

The National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) is a web-based platform used by local, state, and territorial health departments in the United States to report all waterborne and foodborne disease outbreaks and enteric disease outbreaks transmitted by contact with environmental sources, infected persons or animals, or unknown modes of transmission to CDC. NORS launched in 2009 following a four-year effort to design and develop the electronic system. If you are a member of the general public and would like to report an outbreak, please contact your local or state health department. NORS is a valuable tool for collecting outbreak data needed to improve public health Outbreak investigations are most often initiated by state, local, and territorial public health agencies and by CDC. Outbreaks are reported to CDC using NORS, which collects information such as date and location of the outbreak, the number of people who became ill and their symptoms, and the pathogen that caused the outbreak.The data from outbreak investigations are checked for accuracy and analyzed by CDC to provide information about national outbreak trends and learning lessons for preventing future outbreaks.

EPI-X

Epi-X is the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions web-based communications solution for public health professionals. Through Epi-X, CDC officials, state and local health departments, poison control centers, and other public health professionals can access and share preliminary health surveillance information — quickly and securely. Users can also be actively notified of breaking health events as they occur. Key features of Epi-X include unparalleled scientific and editorial support, controlled user access, digital credentials and authentication, rapid outbreak reporting, and peer-to-peer consultation.

RODS

The National Retail Data Monitor (NRDM) monitors anonymous sales of over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare products to identify disease outbreaks. The goal of the NRDM project has been to bring this new type of public health surveillance data to health departments to meet the nationʼs need for the early detection of bioterrorism as well as naturally occurring disease outbreaks. The number of retail pharmacy, grocery, and mass merchandise operations that participate in the NRDM has grown to more than 28,000 stores, from fourteen chains. More than 800 public health officials, across 49 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories, have had access to the system via protected user accounts.