Epidemiology
The epidemiology section of Sedgwick County Health Department is responsible for the detection, control, and prevention of communicable diseases among Sedgwick County residents. This is accomplished by public health surveillance and monitoring the occurrences of legally mandated reportable diseases and other diseases of public health concern.
Surveillance for infectious diseases is an important tool of public health practice. Surveillance provides crucial information for monitoring the health of the public, identifying public health problems, and triggering action to prevent further illness. Such information is vital to the public’s health, and its analysis and dissemination frequently affect everyday life and clinical practice. Public health surveillance has been very efficient in identifying many outbreaks. Public health surveillance also provides data about the incidence of disease in the community.
Reporting by providers and laboratories is mandated by state legislation or regulation. In Kansas reporting of infectious diseases is mandated by K.S.A. 65-118, 65-128 and 65-6001 through 65-6007; and by K.A.R. 28-1-2 and 28-1-18. Copies of these laws are available from Sedgwick County Health Department.
Reports from providers and laboratories about individual cases of notifiable diseases are generally sent to the local health department and the local health department passes the information on to the state health department. Each state health department reports its data electronically to CDC. Outbreaks or cases that require an urgent response (e.g., a case of botulism, a case of meningococcal meningitis, or a multistate outbreak of food borne disease) are immediately reported.
In Sedgwick County all the physicians, laboratories, and other health care providers are required to report a case of suspect or confirmed infectious disease to Sedgwick County Health Department.
School Nurses' Corner
We have received many requests for the Communicable Disease Letter. Please feel free to access it here. Coming soon in Spanish!
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