Always on watch: Enteric disease exclusions enacted for cases reported between 2018 to 2022
Abstract
Cobb and Douglas Public Health acute disease epidemiology section (CDPH ADES) staff performs case investigations and attempts interviews on all reported enteric diseases that are listed in the Georgia notifiable disease and condition list. Diseases that have return to work (or attendance) exclusion criteria are a priority for interview, which include acute Hepatitis A, salmonellosis (typhii and non-typhoidal strains), shigellosis and shiga-toxin producing E. coli. Exclusion criteria is established by the Food Service Rules and Regulations of Georgia, the Department of Early Care and Learning and are informed by Georgia Department of Public Health best practices to preventing the spread of infectious disease. Over the last 5-year period from 2018 to 2022, 1225 cases of these selected enteric diseases were reported in Cobb and Douglas counties. Of these, 783 (64%) were successfully interviewed and 37 cases (4.7% of interviewed cases) were found to meet criteria for return to work or attendance restrictions. CDPH ADES works with the environmental health program, childcare administrators, restaurant and healthcare management to exclude employees or childcare attendees from returning until they have been cleared and are no longer deemed infectious. Clearance criteria for bacterial infections center around negative stool cultures with varying timeframes based on which infections are being cleared. Clearance criteria for acute Hepatitis A is time based, either 7 days from symptom onset or 7 days from jaundice onset, whichever is longer. Successful restriction of persons diagnosed with these selected enteric diseases have prevented additional spread of illness in the community and are a vital part of public health's mission to prevent additional illnesses.
Keywords
epidemiology, enteric, trends, restrictions
Always on watch: Enteric disease exclusions enacted for cases reported between 2018 to 2022
Cobb and Douglas Public Health acute disease epidemiology section (CDPH ADES) staff performs case investigations and attempts interviews on all reported enteric diseases that are listed in the Georgia notifiable disease and condition list. Diseases that have return to work (or attendance) exclusion criteria are a priority for interview, which include acute Hepatitis A, salmonellosis (typhii and non-typhoidal strains), shigellosis and shiga-toxin producing E. coli. Exclusion criteria is established by the Food Service Rules and Regulations of Georgia, the Department of Early Care and Learning and are informed by Georgia Department of Public Health best practices to preventing the spread of infectious disease. Over the last 5-year period from 2018 to 2022, 1225 cases of these selected enteric diseases were reported in Cobb and Douglas counties. Of these, 783 (64%) were successfully interviewed and 37 cases (4.7% of interviewed cases) were found to meet criteria for return to work or attendance restrictions. CDPH ADES works with the environmental health program, childcare administrators, restaurant and healthcare management to exclude employees or childcare attendees from returning until they have been cleared and are no longer deemed infectious. Clearance criteria for bacterial infections center around negative stool cultures with varying timeframes based on which infections are being cleared. Clearance criteria for acute Hepatitis A is time based, either 7 days from symptom onset or 7 days from jaundice onset, whichever is longer. Successful restriction of persons diagnosed with these selected enteric diseases have prevented additional spread of illness in the community and are a vital part of public health's mission to prevent additional illnesses.
