Means of notification—Local health officer or local health jurisdiction.
(1) A local health jurisdiction shall:
(a) Maintain a twenty-four-hour telephone number to receive confirmation calls of case reports or laboratory reports submitted under this chapter for:
(i) Immediately notifiable conditions; and
(ii) Conditions designated as notifiable within twenty-four hours.
(b) Notify the department immediately using either telephone or secure electronic data transmission:
(i) Upon receiving a case report or laboratory report for a condition that is immediately notifiable to the local health jurisdiction under this chapter, excluding Meningococcal disease, invasive (Neisseria meningitides); Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC)/enterohemorrhagic E. coli; and Vaccinia; and
(ii) Of an outbreak or suspected outbreak within their jurisdiction;
(c) Notify the department using a secure electronic disease surveillance system within three business days of receiving a case report or laboratory report for a condition that is not immediately notifiable to the local health jurisdiction under this chapter;
(d) If after submitting a notification to the department, the local health officer determines no further investigation is necessary, indicate in the secure electronic disease surveillance system that no further investigation is warranted within three business days of the determination.
(e) Immediately reassign cases to the department upon determining the patient who is the subject of the case:
(i) Is a resident of another local health jurisdiction; or
(ii) Resides outside Washington state.
(f) Submit an investigation report to the department using a secure electronic disease surveillance system for each case report or laboratory report received by the local health jurisdiction for which the local health officer determined an investigation was necessary:
(i) Within seven days of completing the investigation for any condition notifiable to the local health jurisdiction; or
(ii) Within twenty-one days of receiving the case report or laboratory report if the investigation is not complete.
(g) Submit an outbreak report to the department using secure electronic data transmission within seven days of completing an outbreak investigation. The department may waive this requirement if notification under (b)(ii) of this subsection provided sufficient information.
(2) The local health officer shall confirm that each case is based on clinical criteria, or laboratory criteria, or both prior to submitting the investigation report to the department. These criteria include, but are not limited to, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists case definitions.
[Statutory Authority: RCW
43.20.050,
70.28.032, and
70.24.130. WSR 21-11-040 and 22-01-175, § 246-101-510, filed 5/12/21 and 12/17/21, effective 1/1/23. Statutory Authority: RCW
43.20.050. WSR 11-02-065, § 246-101-510, filed 1/4/11, effective 2/4/11. Statutory Authority: RCW
43.20.050,
70.24.125 and
70.28.010. WSR 00-23-120, § 246-101-510, filed 11/22/00, effective 12/23/00.]