Notifiable Diseases and Conditions
What We Do
Prevention and management of communicable diseases and other notifiable conditions are core public health services that protect our community by reducing the potential for illnesses and their severity. Our team works closely with residents, their providers, laboratories, and other community partners to:
- Conduct surveillance and investigations for notifiable conditions
- Investigate communicable disease outbreaks and support control measures
- Consult with and provide resources to residents, providers, and community partners
- Engage in partnerships with other local health jurisdictions and state health authorities
Reporting a Notifiable Disease or Condition
Certain notifiable conditions should be reported to Lewis County Public Health and Social Services by healthcare providers, healthcare facilities, clinical laboratories, and veterinarians. Once you confirm or suspect a notifiable disease or condition, the timeframe to report it is based on severity and risk. Refer to the Washington State Department of Health's Notifiable Conditions Reporting Posters By Reporter for up-to-date conditions and reporting requirements.
If you have questions or concerns regarding a notifiable condition, please call 360-740-1223 and ask to speak with communicable disease staff. If you need to fax a notifiable condition report, please fax to 360-740-1472.
If you call and no one is available to answer the phone or if it is after hours or on the weekend, please call dispatch at 360-740-1105 to report the condition.
Foodborne Illness and Food Safety Concerns
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) launched a new tool that makes it easier to report food poisoning and file a food safety complaint. Lewis County Public Health & Social Services and DOH encourages everyone in Lewis County and across Washington to share food safety concerns through the state’s online Foodborne Illness Notification System (FINS).
Do you have a respiratory infection? Are you ready to go back to work and/or school?
If you have respiratory virus symptoms that are not better explained by another cause (such as allergies) or test positive for COVID-19 or another respiratory virus, follow CDC guidance for staying home and away from others; this includes people you live with who are not sick.
You can go back to your normal activities when both of the following have been true for at least 24 hours:
- Your symptoms are getting better overall, and
- You have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication).
You can tell your symptoms are improving when you start to feel better and you feel well enough to fully participate in your activities, such as learning in a classroom or completing tasks at work. A respiratory virus infection can have many types of symptoms, some of which can last beyond when someone is contagious (able to spread the virus), such as a lingering cough. Having a single symptom or a combination of symptoms is not as important as the overall sense of feeling better and the ability to resume activities.
When you go back to your normal activities, wear a mask and take added precautions over the next 5 days, such as taking steps to improve air flow and filtration, practicing good hand hygiene, cleaning regularly, physical distancing, and testing when you will be around other people indoors. You may still be contagious with a respiratory virus after returning to your normal activities, so it is important to take additional precautions.
- People with COVID-19 are often contagious for 5-10 days after their illness begins.
- People with flu may be contagious for up to 5-7 days after their illness begins.
- People with RSV are usually contagious for 3-8 days after their illness begins.
Some people, such as those with a weakened immune system, can be contagious with a respiratory virus for longer periods of time.
For more information, visit Preventing the Spread of Respiratory Viruses