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Suffolk County Government

Edward P. Romaine, County Executive
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Departments > Health Services > Communicable Disease Reporting

Communicable Diseases

What is a Communicable Disease?

A communicable disease, also called an infectious disease, is an illness that can spread from one person to another.1 Sometimes, these diseases can also be transmitted from animals or disease-causing microbes and pathogens.

The spread of disease can happen in various ways, including:

  • Breathing in viruses or bacteria in the air.
  • Contact with blood or other bodily fluids from someone who is sick.
  • Ingesting contaminated food or water.
  • Bites from insects or animals that can transmit the disease.

New York State (NYS) Communicable Disease Reporting

The NYS Sanitary Code (10NYCRR 2.10) mandates that suspected or confirmed communicable disease cases must be reported by certain health care providers and facilities that provide health care services.2 The state’s reporting requirements specify which diseases must be reported and when they should be reported.

Click here for the NYS Department of Health Communicable Disease Reporting Requirements.

Suffolk County Department of Health Services

The Bureau of Epidemiology and Disease Control within the Division of Public Health plays a central role in the Health Department’s mission to prevent the occurrence and spread of communicable disease.

References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023). Aircrew Safety & Health – Communicable Diseases.
  2. New York State Department of Health (2019). Communicable Disease Reporting.

Communicable Disease Cases in Suffolk County, NY

Check out the table below to examine cases of communicable diseases in Suffolk County from 2011-2021. To view graph trends of each disease over the years, click here.

The data to create this chart was collected from NYS Communicable Disease Annual Reports. HIV/AIDS data from 2017-2022 can be found in HIV annual surveillance reports published by the AIDS Institute.

DISEASE 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
AIDS *2019 & 2020 data completeness affected by COVID-19* *Excludes inmates. 29 33 50 54 57 59 66 54 59 58 107
AMEBIASIS 18 23 35 29 32 31 22 19 14 25 15
ANAPLASMOSIS 37 12 21 36 31 31 50 46 34 25 29
BABESIOSIS 142 80 131 157 138 153 214 197 193 139 206
BOTULISM 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0
BRUCELLOSIS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
CAMPYLO-BACTERIOSIS 310 249 301 317 270 243 290 265 248 240 217
CHLAMYDIA 4914 4832 5370 5131 4917 4506 3964 3557 3374 3467 3518
CHIKUNGUNYA 0 0 1 2 1 1 17 2 0 0 0
CHOLERA 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
CRYPTOSPORIDIOSIS 30 13 25 16 9 15 16 7 9 14 10
CYCLOSPORA 18 5 9 7 5 6 3 3 1 0 2
DENGUE FEVER 0 0 4 0 1 3 11 4 13 2 3
EASTERN EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
E. COLI SHIGA-TOXIN / EHEC 61 28 62 43 17 14 5 17 15 9 7
E. COLI 0157 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 3 6 3
EHRLICHIOSIS 55 15 39 44 55 84 50 67 46 30 20
EHRLICH/ANAPLAS UNDETERMINED 0 0 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 1 0
ENCEPHALITIS (NON EEE AND WNV) 10 13 13 21 6 9 3 6 3 7 10
GIARDIASIS 86 49 114 113 95 118 96 95 83 84 99
GONORRHEA 1204 1066 807 788 760 573 662 557 529 505 543
HAEMOPHILUS INFLUENZAE 6 16 40 27 42 21 28 13 28 32 24
HEMOLYTIC UREMIC SYNDROME 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
HEPATITIS A 4 5 29 11 15 8 5 6 22 8 5
HEPATITIS B ACUTE 0 4 10 8 8 6 4 0 5 9 11
HEPATITIS B CHRONIC **Cases as of September 11, 2013, exclude inmates. Not published in 2011** 234 220 211 269 289 310 252 246 245 240 N/A
HEPATITIS C ACUTE 25 3 13 19 5 9 9 2 6 1 1
HEPATITIS C CHRONIC *Not published in 2011 345 432 647 744 825 882 860 930 728 762 N/A
HEPATITIS INF, INFANT <60 DAYS 1 0 0 2 0 1 4 6 6 3 0
HIV *2019 & 2020 data completeness affected by COVID-19 **Excludes inmates. 75 53 93 101 103 106 95 141 124 92 130
LABORATORY CONFIRMED INFLUENZA 3443 5930 6762 8341 4400 3559 2034 3798 2369 1660 1999
LYMPHO GRANULOMA VENEREUM 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 1
LISTERIOSIS 5 7 7 8 7 11 8 5 5 6 6
LYME DISEASE 496 340 433 476 523 644 669 654 566 689 656
MALARIA 1 0 3 7 6 9 5 0 10 4 11
MEASLES 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
MENINGITIS ASEPTIC 19 11 38 57 50 52 71 57 69 115 127
MENINGO COCCAL 1 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 2 6 2
MENINGITIS OTHER BACT. & UNKNOWN 2 2 4 8 2 3 7 5 2 2 6
MUMPS 2 5 5 7 8 9 4 1 1 0 1
PERTUSSIS 2 8 63 24 46 103 70 88 56 508 298
Q FEVER 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SPOTTED FEVER (RMSF) 1 0 5 9 6 12 8 8 8 14 2
RUBELLA CONGENITAL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SALMONELLOSIS 176 157 2540 220 198 208 220 190 193 217 179
SHIGELLOSIS 37 23 51 59 37 37 29 51 61 43 30
STREP GROUP A INVASIVE 21 24 41 58 56 49 41 36 25 42 43
STREP GROUP B INVASIVE 113 130 145 165 144 141 142 137 112 127 122
STREP PNEUMO INVASIVE 48 53 96 106 100 95 89 83 111 116 138
SYPHILIS EARLY 270 168 168 151 151 165 161 108 82 54 59
SYPHILIS LATE 131 65 94 105 126 139 122 141 145 175 205
TETANUS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TUBERCULOSIS 0 22 31 24 34 34 24 35 22 33 0
TYPHOID FEVER 4 0 6 1 0 9 2 2 3 6 4
VIBRIOSIS *Data was not published 2012-2014. 28 17 22 16 9 13 15 N/A N/A N/A 16
VANCOMYCIN INDETERMINATE STAPH AUREUS (VISA) *Data was not published 2012-2014. 0 0 3 1 2 0 1 N/A N/A N/A 1
WEST NILE FEVER 0 3 1 4 0 1 2 0 2 7 2
WEST NILE VIRUS 8 2 2 7 6 4 3 1 3 7 2
YERSINIOSIS 30 22 28 18 9 4 4 5 6 11 5
ZIKA VIRUS *Zika Virus was not reportable until 2015. 0 0 3 3 13 66 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A

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