Disease Reporting

The diseases and conditions listed on this page are considered to have significant public health impact, and any confirmed or suspected cases must be reported promptly.

Requirements for the timing of reporting, once the disease or condition is recognized or suspected, vary by disease. In addition to the information listed below, general reporting requirements are described in Wisconsin Statute Chapter 252 Communicable Diseases. The specific reporting requirements are described in Chapter DHS 145 Control of Communicable Diseases. A list of reportable conditions is provided in Chapter DHS 145 - Appendix A.

Questions concerning this information may be directed to: Bureau of Communicable Diseases, 608-267-9003, or the Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health, 608-266-1120.

Case Reporting Methods and Contact Information

Category I diseases must be reported IMMEDIATELY by telephone (preferred) to the patient's local health officer, or their designee. Category II diseases must be reported within 72 hours either electronically through the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System (WEDSS), by mail or fax using an Acute and Communicable Disease Case Report, F-44151 or STD Case Report Form, F-44243, or by other means. HIV/AIDS should be reported directly to the Wisconsin AIDS/HIV Program.

COMMUNICABLE DISEASES AND OTHER NOTIFIABLE CONDITIONS

Category I

CATEGORY I:
The following diseases are of urgent public health importance and shall be reported IMMEDIATELY by telephone to the patient's local health officer, or to the local health officer's designee, upon identification of a case or suspected case. In addition to the immediate report, within 24 hours, complete and fax, mail, or submit a case report electronically through the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System (WEDSS), or by other means. Public health intervention is expected as indicated. See Chapter DHS 145.04 (3) (a) and Chapter 252.05.

Category I Disease Notes
Anthrax 1, 4, 5
Botulism (Clostridium Botulinum) (including foodborne, infant, wound, and other) 1, 2, 4, 5
Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) 2
Cholera (Vibrio cholera) 1, 3, 4
Diphtheria (Corynebacterium diphtheria) 1, 3, 4, 5
Haemophilus influenzae invasive disease (including epiglottitis) 1, 2, 3, 5
Hantavirus infection 1, 2, 4
Hepatitis A 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Measles (rubeola) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Meningococcal disease (Neisseria meningitidis) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome-associated Caronavirus (MERS-CoV) 2, 3, 4
Pertussis (whooping cough caused by any Bordetella infection) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Plague (Yersinia pestis) 1, 4, 5
Polio virus infection (paralytic or nonparalytic) 1, 4, 5
Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) (Naegleria fowleri) 2, 4, 5, 6
Rabies (human, animal) 1, 4, 5
Ricin toxin 4, 5
Rubella 1, 2, 4, 5
Rubella (congenital syndrome) 1, 2, 5
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-associated Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) 1, 2, 3, 4
Smallpox 4, 5
Tuberculosis 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) and
Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) infection		 1, 4, 5
Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF) (including Crimean-Congo, Ebola, Lassa Lujo, and Marburg viruses, and New World Arenaviruses) 1, 2, 3, 4
Yellow fever 1, 4
Outbreaks, confirmed or suspected:
   Foodborne or waterborne outbreaks
   Occupationally-related diseases
   Other acute illnesses
1, 3, 4, 6
6
3, 4, 6
Any detection of, or illness caused by, an agent that is foreign, exotic or unusual to Wisconsin, and that has public health implications 4

Notes Key:

  1. Infectious disease or other condition designated as notifiable at the national level.
  2. Required Wisconsin or CDC follow-up form completed by public health agency.
  3. High-risk assessment by local health department is needed to determine if patient or member of patient's household is employed in food handling, daycare or health care.
  4. Source investigation by local or state health department is needed.
  5. Immediate treatment is recommended, i.e., antibiotic or biologic for the patient or contact or both.
  6. Coordination between local and state health departments is recommended for follow-up.

Category II

CATEGORY II:
The following diseases shall be reported to the patient's local health officer, or the local health officer's designee, either electronically through the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System (WEDSS), by mail or fax using an Acute and Communicable Disease Case Report, F-44151 (Word fillable) or F-44151 (PDF fillable) or by other means within 72 hours upon recognition of a case or suspected case. Public health intervention is expected as indicated. See Chapter DHS 145.04 (3) (b) and Chapter 252.05.

The sexually transmitted diseases shall be reported to the local health officer within 72 hours on a Sexually Transmitted Diseases Laboratory and Morbidity Epidemiologic Case Report, F-44243 (Word fillable) or by entering the data into the WEDSS or by other means within 72 hours of the identification of a case or suspected case. Public health intervention is expected as indicated. See Chapter DHS 145.15 and Chapter 252.11 (7)(b).

Category II Disease Notes
Anaplasmosis 1, 2, 5
Arboviral disease (including, but not limited to, disease caused by California serogroup, Chikungunya, Dengue, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Powassan, St. Louis Encephalitis, West Nile, Western Equine Encephalitis, and Zika viruses) 1, 2, 4
Babesiosis 1 ,2, 4, 5
Blastomycosis 2
Borreliosis (other than Lyme disease which is reportable as a distinct disease) 2, 4, 6
Brucellosis 1, 2, 4
Campylobacteriosis (Campylobacter infection) 1, 2, 3, 4
Chancroid (Haemophilus ducreyi) 1, 2
Chlamydia trachomatis infection 1, 2, 4, 5
Coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever) 1, 2, 4
Cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidium infection) 1, 2, 3, 4
Cyclosporiasis (Cyclospora infection) 1, 2
Ehrlichiosis 1, 2, 5
Environmental and occupational lung diseases:
   Asbestosis
   Silicosis
   Chemical pneumonitis
   Occupational lung diseases caused by bio-dusts and bio-aerosols
6
1, 6
6
6
E. coli infection (caused by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC)) 1, 2, 3, 4
E. coli infection (caused by enteropathogenic (EPEC), enteroinvasive (EIEC), or enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC)) 2, 3, 4
Free-living amebae infection (including Acanthamoeba disease (including keratitis) and Balamuthia mandrillaris disease) 2, 4
Giardiasis 1, 2, 3, 4
Gonorrhea (Neisseria gonorrhoeae) 1, 2, 4, 5
Hemolytic uremic syndrome 1, 2, 3, 4
Hepatitis B 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Hepatitis C 1, 2
Hepatitis D 2, 3, 4
Hepatitis E  
Histoplasmosis 2
Influenza-associated hospitalization 2
Influenza-associated pediatric death 1, 2, 4
Influenza A virus infection, novel subtypes 1, 2
Kawasaki disease 2
Latent Tuberculosis infection (LTBI) 2, 5
Legionellosis 1, 2, 4, 5
Leprosy (Hansen's disease) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Leptospirosis 1, 2, 4
Listeriosis 1, 2, 4
Lyme disease 1, 2
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection 4
Malaria (Plasmodium infection) 1, 2, 4, 5
Meningitis, bacterial (other than Haemophilus influenzae, meningococcal or streptococcal, which are reportable as distinct diseases) 2
Mumps 1, 2, 4, 5
Mycobacterial disease (nontuberculous)  
Pelvic inflammatory disease 2
Psittacosis 1, 2, 4
Q Fever (Coxiella burnetii) 1, 2
Rheumatic fever (newly diagnosed and meeting the Jones criteria) 5
Rickettsiosis (other than spotted fever rickettsiosis, which is reportable as a distinct disease) 2, 4, 6
Salmonellosis 1, 2, 3, 4
Shigellosis (Shigella infection) 1, 2, 3, 4
Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis (including Rocky Mountain spotted fever) 1, 2, 4, 5
Streptococcal disease
(all invasive disease caused by Groups A and B Streptococci)		  
Streptococcus pneumoniae invasive disease (invasive pneumococcal) 1
Syphilis (Treponema pallidum) 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
Tetanus 1, 2, 5
Toxic shock syndrome 1, 2
Toxic substance related diseases:
   Blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria) and Cyanotoxin poisoning
   Carbon monoxide poisoning
   Infant methemoglobinemia
   Lead (Pb) poisoning in children and adults
   Metal poisonings other than lead (Pb)
   Pesticide poisonings		 2, 4, 6
1, 6
6
1, 6
6
1, 6
Toxoplasmosis  
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), human TSE)  
Trichinosis 1, 2, 4
Tularemia (Francisella tularensis) 1, 2, 4, 5

Typhoid fever (Salmonella Typhi)

 1, 2, 3, 4
Varicella (chickenpox) 1, 3, 5

Vibriosis (non-cholera Vibrio infection)

 1, 2, 3, 4
Yersiniosis 2, 3, 4
Zika virus infection 1, 2

Case reporting methods

Notes Key:

  1. Infectious disease or other condition designated as notifiable at the national level.
  2. Required Wisconsin or CDC follow-up form completed by public health agency.
  3. High-risk assessment by local health department is needed to determine if patient or member of patient's household is employed in food handling, daycare or health care.
  4. Source investigation by local or state health department is needed.
  5. Immediate treatment is recommended, i.e., antibiotic or biologic for the patient or contact or both.
  6. Coordination between local and state health departments is recommended for follow-up.

* Effective November 29, 2010 Influenza associated hospitalizations are reportable in Wisconsin within 72 hours of identification to local public health agencies.

Category III

CATEGORY III:

The following disease shall be reported to the state epidemiologist on a Wisconsin HIV Infection and AIDS Case Report Form, F-44338 or by other means within 72 hours after identification of a known or suspected case. Additionally, the following laboratory results shall be reported on all persons newly or previously diagnosed with HIV infection each time the test is conducted: all CD4+ test results (CD4+ T-lymphocyte counts and percentages), both detectable and undetectable HIV viral load results, HIV genotypic results and all components of the HIV laboratory diagnostic testing algorithm when the initial screening test is reactive. See Chapter 252.15 (7) (b) and Chapter DHS 145.04 (3) (b)

Case reporting methods and contact information

  • Send the case report form in an envelope marked "Confidential" to:
       James Vergeront, MD
       Wisconsin Bureau of Communicable Diseases
       1 W. Wilson St., Room 265
       Madison, WI 53703

  • To obtain case reporting forms, contact the AIDS/HIV Program, 608-267-5287.

Category III HIV/AIDS Notes
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (AIDS has been reclassified as HIV Stage III) 1, 2, 4

Notes Key:

  1. Infectious disease or other condition designated as notifiable at the national level.
  2. Required Wisconsin or CDC follow-up form completed by public health agency.
  3. High-risk assessment by local health department is needed to determine if patient or member of patient's household is employed in food handling, daycare or health care.
  4. Source investigation by local or state health department is needed.
  5. Immediate treatment is recommended, i.e., antibiotic or biologic for the patient or contact or both.
  6. Coordination between local and state health departments is recommended for follow-up. 

Paper Forms and Ordering Instructions

 

Questions concerning ordering of forms can be addressed to Cris Caputo, 608-267-9054.

 

Last Revised: March 7, 2019