The Communicable Disease Branch has four main objectives:

• To promptly investigate disease outbreaks and unusual situations and to implement control measures to minimize further transmission of disease
• To monitor disease-reporting by physicians and laboratories in order to detect trends and to assess the public health impact of diseases
• To provide a channel of communication between public health agencies, private physicians, and hospital and occupational infection control personnel, as an essential part of disease control efforts
• To explain public health interventions and disseminate health education messages to the community and the media in order to enhance disease control efforts

N.C. Communicable Disease Information

• Animal-borne disease: Guidelines to prevent adverse health events with animals at schools
• Botulism: canned foods recall, Aug. 2007
• Cryptosporidium
• E.coli ( Escherichia coli Infection)
• Hepatitis
• HIV/AIDS: North Carolina HIV/STD Prevention and Care
• Influenza (Flu)
• Mad Cow Disease
• Mosquito-Borne Illnesses (Arboviruses)
• MRSA, Community-Associated
• Norovirus
• Norovirus outbreaks: What to do
• Rabies
• Recreational Water Illness
• SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases: North Carolina HIV/STD Prevention and Care
• Tick-Borne Illnesses
• Tuberculosis: North Carolina TB Control Program
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) topics index

N.C. Communicable Disease Manuals, Rules and Plans:

• Pandemic Influenza Plan
• SARS Response Plan
• Communicable Disease Manual
• 2008 Sexually Transmitted Disease Assessment, Prevention and Treatment Protocols manual
• Tuberculosis Policy Manual
• Vaccine-Preventable Disease Manuals
• Communicable Disease Rules (PDF)*

Statistics:

• Communicable Diseases*, North Carolina, January-September 2009 (PDF)*
• Communicable Diseases*, North Carolina, January-December 2008 (PDF)*
• Communicable Diseases*, North Carolina, January-December 2007 (PDF)*
• Communicable Diseases*, North Carolina, January-December 2006 (PDF)*
• Communicable Diseases*, North Carolina, January-December 2005 (PDF)*
• Communicable Diseases*, North Carolina, January-December 2004 (PDF)*
• Communicable Diseases*, North Carolina, January-December 2003 (PDF)*
• Communicable Diseases*, North Carolina, 1991 to 2004 (PDF)*
• DISEASE TABLES: Reported Cases, North Carolina, 2000-2005,
  Disease by County of Residence and by Year of Report (PDF)*
• COUNTY TABLES: Reported Cases, North Carolina, 2000-2005,
  County of Residence by Disease and by Year of Report (PDF)*

      *Includes only diseases reportable by law in North Carolina. See
       North Carolina Communicable Disease Rules (PDF)* for current
      list of reportable diseases. See also HIV/AIDS/STD statistics
      and Tuberculosis statistics links below.

• Hepatitis A Among Men who Have Sex with Men (PDF)*
• HIV/AIDS/STD statistics
• Rabies statistics
• Tuberculosis statistics

In the news:

• N.C. DHHS Press Releases

Other Information:

• North Carolina Taking Antibiotic Resistance Seriously
• Keep Illness from Spreading: Respiratory infection control precautions
• Handwash poster (English)
• Handwash poster (Spanish)
• Especially for kids: The Scrub Club - NSF International
• Summer Camping...with no bites brochure (PDF)*

Other important websites for communicable disease bulletins and information:

• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• World Health Organization

*Some resources are in a pdf format to make reading and printing easier. You may need to download the free software Adobe Reader 9.0 (or higher) to access them.

Contact information:
General Communicable Disease Control Branch
Epidemiology Section
1902 Mail Service Center
Raleigh NC 27699-1902

Main telephone number: (919) 733-3419
Fax: (919) 733-0490