Mission:
To appropriately survey and investigate reported infectious and non-infectious diseases,
and enforce the Ohio state regulations regarding reportable diseases in the Akron area.Duties and Services
- Maintain the surveillance of reportable communicable
diseases as mandated by Ohio state law
- Investigates reportable communicable diseases and possible
disease outbreaks
- Help maintain the Summit County Centralized Communicable
Disease Registry
- Provide educational programs on communicable diseases to
health care professionals and the public
- Provide written educational materials about communicable
diseases to health care professionals and the public
- Conduct the Summit County Influenza Surveillance system from
October through April
Telephone Numbers:
Disease Surveillance and Control
330-375-2145
330-375-2013
Centralized Communicable Disease Registry
(for disease reporting only)
330-375-2662
330-375-2447 FAX
After-hours number for reporting of communicable diseases,
possible disease outbreaks, or potential bioterrorism incidents: 330-710-2770 (pager)
This pager is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Disease Surveillance and Control
Communicable disease surveillance in the United States
is over 100 years old. The Disease Surveillance and Control section of the Office of
Epidemiology collects reports of and investigates reportable diseases in City of Akron
residents. The State of Ohio mandates the reporting of approximately 80 different
communicable diseases (Ohio’s Reportable Diseases). Some of these infections are
significant public health concerns because of their contagiousness, some because of their
rareness in Ohio, some because of increasing antibiotic resistance, and some because they
may indicate a common source (food for example) of infection. Understanding the nature and
extent of communicable diseases in a community is key to preventing their spread to
others, and to identifying new threats to health.
Investigation of communicable diseases is done
confidentially. Information collected is shared with the Ohio Department of Health. That
agency removes personal identity data and sends the numbers of reported cases of the
different diseases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta where a
registry of communicable disease information for the United States is kept.
Not all diseases reported require an investigation by
disease control personnel. Individual case investigation typically occurs only when
intervention may limit the spread of the infection to others.
When a disease investigator interacts with a patient five
things are emphasized:
- Ensuring the patient understands the disease he or she has;
- Ensuring that the patient has medical follow-up if
necessary;
- Identifying possible contacts (and imposing work
restrictions if the disease is one of the few that require them);
- Attempting to determine where or how the person may have
contracted the disease by asking a series of detailed questions;
- Giving the person information on how to avoid contracting
the same or similar diseases in the future.
Sometimes it is not always possible to say exactly where an
individual picked up the disease. However, the information is important in looking for
trends or possible common sources. Only by learning what diseases are present and why they
are occurring can anything be done to control them.
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