COMMUNICABLE DISEASE REPORT
The Acute and Communicable Disease Epidemiology Section, Bureau of Community Health and Prevention, Division of Health, is the organizational unit charged with the responsibility of executing the statutory mandates regarding the surveillance and control of communicable diseases. These responsibilities are accomplished through the cooperative efforts of hospital infection control personnel, physicians, local health departments, the State Laboratory of Hygiene, and other health care providers. The Local Health Officer is defined in S. 254.59 (1). The Director of the Price County Health Department is the health officer for Price County under this state statute and by action of the Price County Board of Supervisors. The local health department receives, evaluates, and transmits completed communicable disease reports to the state epidemiologist. They investigate each communicable disease to gather epidemiologic and laboratory data for local, state, and national surveillance, conduct detailed follow up as needed to prevent future cases, and where possible, identify the etiologic agent, the mode of transmission, or risk factors associated with transmission.