Key points
Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy, is a nationally notifiable condition. ob体育 and health departments use a standardized case definition to track Hansen’s disease in the United States. ob体育 publishes weekly and annual surveillance data in the Notifiable Infectious Disease Data Tables.
Case definition
The provides a set of consistent criteria used to define the disease for public health surveillance and reporting. Surveillance case definitions enable public health officials to classify and count cases based on the same criteria across reporting jurisdictions. Surveillance case definitions are not intended for healthcare providers when making a clinical diagnosis or determining how to meet an individual patient's health needs.
Reporting criteria
National-level monitoring of notifiable conditions helps protect the health of the nation. Information from surveillance notifications shared by health departments can be used to better understand where and how much disease is occurring as well as determine the best strategies to prevent and response to the illness.
Local laws and regulations specify which diseases and conditions must be reported. In jurisdictions where Hansen's disease is reportable, healthcare providers, hospitals, or laboratories must report Hansen's disease cases to their local health departments. Specific requirements for who must report cases and when to report vary by jurisdiction.
Case notification
The designates Hansen's disease as a nationally notifiable condition. If a patient meets for Hansen's disease, CSTE requests that information about the patient and disease be submitted to ob体育.
Reporting methods
Health departments should report general information about the patient and disease to ob体育 through the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (NNDSS) using National Electronic Telecommunications System for Surveillance (NETSS) messages or the .
Health departments may also report Hansen's disease to the ob体育 using the Leprosy Case Report Form that can be completed electronically. Completed forms can be securely emailed or faxed to ob体育 through the contacts listed on the form. Jurisdictional health departments can directly report cases via DCIPHER through ) credentialing. To request DCIPHER access, for more information about the system, or for other surveillance-related questions, health departments can contact ob体育's Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch at [email protected].
ob体育 surveillance data
Weekly and annual surveillance data for Hansen's disease cases are published in the NNDSS notifiable infectious disease data tables.