Infectious Disease Information

Be Aware That:

Class A (Infectious) Diseases must be reported to the local public health department where the resident resides.

To report a Class A Disease, call the Ashtabula County Health Nursing line (440)576-6010#2

If you are calling during off hours, contact the Ashtabula County Dispatch at 440-576-0055 and ask for

a health official to contact you.

A report must be made to the Ashtabula County Health Department unless the patient resides in the cities of

Ashtabula or Conneaut

In those cases, the report should be made ether to:

Ashtabula City Health Department (440) 992-7143

Conneaut City Health Department (440) 593-7446

These are Class A Infectious Diseases:

Anthrax

Botulism

Diphtheria

Free-living amoeba infection

Influenza A – novel virus infection

Measles

Meningococcal disease

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

Plague

Rabies, human

Rubella (not congenital)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) 

Smallpox

Tularemia, inhalation

Viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF), including Ebola virus disease, Lassa fever, Marburg  hemorrhagic fever, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

Any unexpected pattern of 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.  

NOTE:  Cases of AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), AIDS-related conditions, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection, perinatal exposure to HIV, all CD4 T-lymphocyte counts  and all tests used to diagnose HIV must be reported on forms and in a manner prescribed by  the Director, Ohio Department of Health. 

soCorgnThese are Class B Infectious Diseases:

Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM)

Anaplasmosis

Arboviral neuroinvasive and non-neuroinvasive disease, such as:

• Chikungunya virus infection
• Eastern equine encephalitis virus disease
• Lacrosse virus disease (other California serogroup virus disease)
• Powassan virus disease
• St. Louis encephalitis virus disease
• West Nile virus infection
• Western Equine encephalitis virus disease
• Yellow fever
• Zika virus infection
• Other arthropod-borne diseases

Babesiosis

Brucellosis

Campylobacteriosis

Candida auris

Carbapenemase-Producing Organisms (CPO)

Chancroid

Chlamydia trachomatis infections

Cholera

Coccidioidomycosis

Covid-19-associated hospitalization

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)

Cronobacter, invasive infection in infants less than 12 months of age

Cryptosporidiosis

Cyclosporiasis

Dengue

E. coli 0157:H7 and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC)

Ehrlichiosis

Giardiasis

Gonorrhea (Neisseria gonorrhoeae)

Haemophilus influenzae (invasive disease)

Hantavirus

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis B (non-perinatal)

Hepatitis B (perinatal)

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C (perinatal)

Hepatitis D (delta hepatitis)

Hepatitis E

Influenza-associated hospitalization

Influenza-associated pediatric mortality

Legionellosis (Legionnairesʼ disease)

Leprosy (Hansen disease)

Leptospirosis

Listeriosis

Lyme disease

Malaria

Meningitis: Bacterial

Mpox

Mumps

Pertussis

Poliomyelitis

Psittacosis

Q fever

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-associated hospitalization 

Rubella (congenital)

Salmonella Paratyphi infection 

Salmonella Typhi infection (typhoid fever)

Salmonellosis

Shigellosis

Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF)

Staphylococcus aureus, Vancomycin Intermediate/Resistant (VISA/VRSA )

Streptococcal disease, group A, invasive

Streptococcal disease, group B, in newborn

Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS)

Streptococcus pneumoniae, Invasive Disease

Syphilis

Tetanus

Toxic shock syndrome (TSS)

Trichinellosis

Tuberculosis (TB) and Latent TB (LTBI) in a child 2 years of age or younger

Tularemia, non-inhalation

Varicella

Vibriosis

Yersiniosis

NOTE:

Cases of AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), AIDS-related conditions, HIV (human

immunodeficiency virus) infection, perinatal exposure to HIV, all CD4 T-lymphocyte counts

and all tests used to diagnose HIV must be reported on forms and in a manner prescribed by

the Director, Ohio Department of Health.

For Class C infectious diseases, outbreaks, unusual incidents or epidemics must be reported by the end of the next business day. 

Examples might be histoplasmosis,

pediculosis, scabies, or staphylococcal infections.

Outbreaks might be among these:

Community

Food-borne

Healthcare-associated

Institutional

Waterborne

Zoonotic

Class C Infectious Diseases are reported to the local Public Health

 jurisdiction of residence of the patient.  To report a Class C

 Infectious Disease to the Ashtabula County Health Department:

 Call 440-576-6010, option 2, or

 Fax Ohio Confidential Reportable Form to 440-576-3378, or

 Scan and email Ohio Confidential Reportable Form to

 lholden@ashtabulacountyhealth.com

 NOTE:

 Cases of AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), AIDS-related conditions, HIV (human

 immunodeficiency virus) infection, perinatal exposure to HIV, all CD4 T-lymphocyte counts

 and all tests used to diagnose HIV must be reported on forms and in a manner prescribed by

 the Director, Ohio Department of Health

Mosquito-Borne Diseases

West Nile virus (WNV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes. Most people are infected in Ohio by the northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds. Infected mosquitoes can then spread the  virus to humans and other animals when they bite. West Nile virus was first detected in the United States in New York City in 1999 and quickly  spread across the country within a few years. West Nile virus was first identified in Ohio birds  and mosquitoes in 2001. The following year, the first human cases and deaths were reported.  By the end of 2002, all but one of the stateʼs 88 counties reported positive humans (441 total  human cases), mosquitoes, birds, or horses. West Nile virus is now established in Ohio where  cases occur each year and seasonal epidemics can flare up under certain conditions in the  summer and continue into the fall.  

Diseases spread by mosquitoes are a concern in Ohio each year.  Mosquito-borne  diseases that may occur locally in Ohio include:

• Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE)
• La Crosse virus
• St. Louis encephalitis virus
• West Nile virus 

There are also several mosquito-borne diseases that Ohioans can acquire when traveling:

• Zika virus 
• Japanese encephalitis
• Malaria 
• Dengue fever 
• Yellow fever 
• Chikungunya 

You can find more information on these and more at the CDC website.  Here are some tips to avoid mosquito bites:  

• If you are outdoors between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active, be sure to  wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, shoe and socks.
• Wear light-colored clothing, which is less attractive to mosquitoes.
• Use EPA-registered mosquito repellent and follow the label directions. Install or repair screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out of your home.

Here are some tips to eliminate mosquito breeding sites around your home:  

• Eliminate standing water.
• Empty or remove water-holding containers, such as buckets, unused flower pots and bird baths.
• Make sure all roof gutters are clean and draining properly. 
• Keep child wading pools empty and on their sides when not being used.

Mpox

The Ohio Department of Health says that Mpox is a rare disease caused by infection with a  virus. Weʼve known mpox can cause disease in people since 1970. Before 2022, mpox was mostly seen in parts of central and west Africa. During 2022, mpox was reported in places  where it is not usually found. This includes countries around the world, including the U.S. and  here in Ohio. For more information about the disease, see ODHʼs Frequently Asked Questions about Mpox or CDCʼs Mpox Vaccination.  

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) is a  disease caused by infection with a virus, known as Monkeypox virus. This virus is part of the  same family as the virus that causes smallpox. People with mpox often get a rash, along with  other symptoms. The rash will go through several stages, including scabs, before healing.  Mpox is not related to chickenpox. 

Mpox is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can be spread between animals and people. It is  endemic, or found regularly, in parts of Central and West Africa. The virus that causes mpox  has been found in small rodents, monkeys, and other mammals that live in these areas.  

Discovery and history

The virus that causes mpox was discovered in 1958, when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease  occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research. Despite being named “monkeypox”  originally, the source of the disease remains unknown. Scientists suspect African rodents and  non-human primates (like monkeys) might harbor the virus and infect people.

The first human case of mpox was recorded in 1970, in what is now the Democratic Republic  of the Congo. In 2022, mpox spread around the world. Before that, cases of mpox in other places were rare and usually linked to travel or to animals being imported from regions where mpox is endemic. 

The World Health Organization renamed the disease in 2022 to follow modern guidelines for naming illnesses. Those guidelines recommend that disease names should avoid offending  cultural, social, national, regional, professional or ethnic groups and minimize unnecessary  negative effects on trade, travel, tourism or animal welfare. The virus that causes it still has its  historic name, however.  More information from CDC can be found here.