(1) For the purposes of this section, "new, emerging, or unusual animal diseases or disease clusters with potential public health significance" means zoonotic or potentially zoonotic diseases in animals that have never or rarely been observed in Washington state (new or emerging); or appear in a new species or show evidence of higher pathogenicity than expected (unusual); or appear in a higher than expected number of animals clustered in time or space (cluster).
(2) The department of agriculture shall:
(a) Submit an individual animal case report for each animal case of a condition identified in Table Agriculture-1 to the department immediately upon being notified of the animal case using secure electronic data transmission under this table and this chapter.
(b) Call the department and confirm receipt immediately after submitting an animal case report for the following conditions:
(i) Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis or Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis);
(ii) Coronavirus infection (SARS-associated coronavirus, MERS-associated coronavirus, and Novel coronavirus (COVID-19));
(iii) Influenza virus in swine, influenza H5 and H7 (avian);
(iv) Livestock exposed to toxic substances which may threaten public health;
(v) Plague (Yersinia pestis);
(vi) Rabies (suspected human or animal);
(vii) Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy; and
(viii) Tularemia (Francisella tularensis).
Table Agriculture-1 (Conditions Notifiable by the Department of Agriculture)
Notifiable Condition (Agent) |
Anthrax (Bacillus anthracisor B. cereus biovar anthracis) |
Arboviral Diseases |
| California serogroup |
| Chikungunya |
| Dengue |
| Eastern equine encephalitis |
| Japanese encephalitis |
| La Crosse encephalitis |
| Powassan |
| St. Louis encephalitis |
| Western equine encephalitis |
| West Nile virus |
| Zika |
Brucellosis (Brucella species) |
Coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioides species) |
Coronavirus infection |
| SARS-associated coronavirus |
| MERS-associated coronavirus |
| Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) |
Cryptococcus gattii or undifferentiated Cryptococcus species (i.e., Cryptococcus not identified as C. neoformans) |
Cysticercosis (Taenia solium) |
Echinococcosis (Echinococcus species) |
Ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia species) |
Glanders (Burkholderia mallei) |
Influenza virus in swine, influenza H5 and H7 (avian) |
Leptospirosis (Leptospira species) |
Livestock exposed to toxic substances which may threaten public health |
Psittacosis (Chlamydia psittaci) |
Plague (Yersinia pestis) |
Q Fever (Coxiella burnettii) |
Rabies (suspected human or animal) |
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections/enterohemorrhagic E. coli infections |
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy |
Trichinosis (Trichinella spiralis) |
Tuberculosis |
Tularemia (Francisella tularensis) |
Vancomycin-resistant (Staphylococcus aureus) |
Zoonotic Viral Hemorrhagic Fever |
New, emerging, or unusual animal diseases or disease clusters with potential public health significance. |
(3) The department of agriculture may provide additional health information, demographic information, or infectious or noninfectious condition information than is required under this chapter to the department, local health jurisdiction, or both when it determines that the additional information will aid the public health authority in protecting and improving the public's health through prevention and control of infectious and noninfectious conditions.
(4) When the department of agriculture submits information under subsection (3) of this section, they shall submit the information using secure electronic data transmission.
(5) The department shall:
(a) Consult with the department of agriculture on all animal cases; and
(b) Notify the local health jurisdiction of animal cases submitted to the department.
