For Health Care Providers: Disease Reporting
Outbreaks and unusual occurrences of diseases
Immediately report an outbreak, an unusual occurrence of any disease, or an exotic or newly recognized disease by phone: 404-508-7870.
Notifiable diseases
Surveillance
The Georgia Department of Public Health, under the legal authority of OCGA 31-12-2 and with the approval of the Department of Public Health, has designated certain diseases and conditions as notifiable. They are listed on the Notifiable Disease and Condition Reporting poster.
The purpose of notifiable disease surveillance is to:
- Identify in a timely way any diseases or conditions that may require immediate public health intervention and follow up.
- Detect changing trends or patterns in disease occurrence.
- Identify areas or communities that require special public health response as a result of changes in disease patterns.
- Assess and evaluate control and prevention interventions.
All Georgia physicians, laboratories and other healthcare providers are required by law to report patients with the conditions listed on the poster to their county health district office. Both lab-confirmed and clinical diagnoses are reportable within the time interval specified.
The data are collected by local and state health agencies who are responsible for analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating the information to “those who need to know” for administrative, program planning, and decision-making purposes. Reporting enables appropriate public health follow-up for your patients, helps identify outbreaks, and provides a better understanding of disease trends in Georgia.
A report of a notifiable disease can be submitted in one of these ways:
Online at sendss.state.ga.us
By email to dekalbepi@dph.ga.gov
By phone:
Monday-Friday, 8:15 a.m.-5 p.m.: 404-508-7870
After hours: 1-866-PUB-HEALTH (1-866-782-4584)By fax to 404-508-7813. Please use this form.