Disease Reporting
Disease reporting frequently asked questions
What is reportable?
Utah Law requires that certain diseases and conditions must be reported to Utah public health. Some diseases must be reported by telephone to 1-888-EPI-UTAH within 24 hours of a suspect diagnosis, while others must be reported within 3 working days of identification.
- Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) or anthrax-like illness caused by Bacillus cereus strains that express anthrax toxin genes*
- Botulism (Clostridium botulinum), non-infant*
- Cholera (Vibrio cholerae)*
- Cronobacter sakazakii, from normally sterile sites in infants younger than 12 months old*
- Coronavirus, novel—including SARS (SARS-CoV) and MERS (MERS-CoV)
- Diphtheria (Corynebacterium diphtheriae)*
- Free-living amebae, from any human source, acanthamoeba species, Balamuthia mandrillaris, Naegleria fowleri
- Haemophilus influenzae, invasive disease
- Hepatitis A
- Influenza infection, non-seasonal strain
- Measles (Rubeola virus)*
- Melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei)
- Meningococcal disease (Neisseria meningitidis), invasive*
- Plague (Yersinia pestis)*
- Poliovirus
- Rabies (human and animal)
- Rubella (excluding congenital syndrome)
- Smallpox (Variola virus)
- Staphylococcus aureus with resistance to vancomycin (VRSA)*†
- Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (prion diseases), including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
- Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex)*†
- Tularemia (Francisella tularensis)*
- Typhoid, cases and carriers*
- Viral hemorrhagic fevers, including Ebola, Lassa, Marburg, and Nipah virus-related illnesses
- Yellow fever (Yellow fever virus)
Also immediately reportable: Unusual diseases or outbreaks of any kind, any exposure/infection that may indicate a bioterrorism event, and any increase or shift in pharmaceutical sales that may indicate a change in disease trends.
* Laboratories shall submit clinical material to the Utah Public Health Laboratory for all cases identified with these organisms, or any organism implicated in an outbreak when instructed by authorized local or state health department staff.
† Antimicrobial susceptibility tests are reportable when performed on the following organisms. Includes minimum inhibitory concentration; results suppressed to the ordering clinician; all carbapenemase test results including the method used; and antiviral susceptibility test results including nucleotide sequencing, genotyping, or phenotypic analysis; when appropriate.
- Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM)
- Adverse event resulting from smallpox vaccination (vaccinia virus, orthopox virus)
- Anaplasmosis (Anaplasma phagocytophilum)
- Arbovirus infection, including chikungunya, Oropouche virus (congenital and non-congenital), St. Louis encephalitis, West Nile virus*, and Zika (including congenital)*
- Babesiosis (Babesia)
- Botulism (Clostridium botulinum), infant*
- Brucellosis (Brucella species)
- Campylobacteriosis (Campylobacter)*
- Candida auris or haemulonii from any body site*†
- Carbapenem-resistant:
- Acinetobacter species (CRA)*†
- any Enterobacterales organism (CRE) (i.e., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species, Enterobacter species, etc.)*†
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) that is also not susceptible to ceftolozane/ tazobactam, or cefepime or ceftazidime when ceftolozane/tazobactam resistance is unknown*†
- Carbapenemase producing:
- Acinetobacter species (CP-CRA)*†
- any Enterobacterales organism (CP-CRE) (i.e., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species, Enterobacer species, etc.)*†
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa*†
- Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi)
- Chancroid (Haemophilus ducreyi)
- Chickenpox (Varicella-zoster virus (VZV), human herpesvirus (HHV-3))
- Chlamydia trachomatis infection
- Coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioides)
- Colorado tick fever
- COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)
- Cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidium)
- Cyclosporiasis (Cyclospora cayetanensis)
- Dengue fever
- Ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia)
- Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection*
- Giardiasis (Giardia lamblia)
- Gonorrhea (Neisseria gonorrhoeae) sexually transmitted and ophthalmia neonatorum†
- Hantavirus infection (Sin Nombre virus)
- Hemolytic uremic syndrome, post-diarrheal
- Hepatitis, viral, including hepatitis B (acute, chronic and perinatal), C (acute, chronic and perinatal), D, and E
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, including perinatal and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) diagnosis†
- Influenza-associated hospitalization*
- Influenza-associated death in a person younger than 18 years of age
- Legionellosis (Legionella)*
- Leprosy (Hansen’s disease)
- Leptospirosis (Leptospira)
- Listerosis (Listeria monocytogenes)*
- Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi)
- Malaria (Plasmodium)
- Mpox
- Mumps
- Mycobacteria other than tuberculosis
- Pertussis (Bordetella pertussis)
- Psittacosis (Chlamydophila psittaci)
- Q Fever (Coxiella burnetii)
- Relapsing fever, tick-borne (Borrelia)
- Rubella, including congenital syndrome
- Salmonellosis (Salmonella)*†
- Shigellosis (Shigella)*†
- Spotted fever rickettsioses, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever (Rickettsia)
- Streptococcal disease, invasive, due to Streptococcus pneumoniae and groups A and B
- Syphilis, all stages, congenital, and syphilitic stillbirth
- Tetanus (Clostridium tetani)
- Toxic shock syndrome, staphylococcal or streptococcal
- Trichinellosis (Trichinella)
- Vibriosis (Vibrio)*, including Cholera
Also reportable: Pregnancies associated with hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, Listeria, Oropouche, rubella, syphilis, or Zika virus infection even if the disease was reported to public health prior to the pregnancy
* Laboratories shall submit clinical material to the Utah Public Health Laboratory for all cases identified with these organisms, or any organism implicated in an outbreak when instructed by authorized local or state health department staff.
† Antimicrobial susceptibility tests are reportable when performed on the following organisms. Includes minimum inhibitory concentration; results suppressed to the ordering clinician; all carbapenemase test results including the method used; and antiviral susceptibility test results including nucleotide sequencing, genotyping, or phenotypic analysis; when appropriate.
Who has to report?
Anyone with knowledge of a reportable disease is required to report to public health. However, most reports will come from healthcare providers, laboratories, healthcare facilities, and schools and childcare programs.
How do you report?
Diseases may be reported to a local health department or the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. Click on the dropdown menus for more information on how to report. Some reporting methods are only available to certain types of reporting entities.
Category 1 laboratories
- Defined as “a facility that conducts any type of CLIA-certified testing”*
- Report via Electronic Laboratory Reporting (ELR)
Category 2 laboratories
- Defined as “a facility that only conducts CLIA-waived testing”*
- Report via Electronic Laboratory Reporting (ELR)
- DHHS may approve use of an online reporting portal when ELR is not available
All reporters should call 888-EPI-UTAH (888-374-8824) to report an immediately notifiable condition (listed above).
Refer to the ELR CDR Supplemental Document v.1 for specific requirements for ELR.
Laboratories must also submit clinical material to the Utah Public Health Laboratory (UPHL) when certain conditions are identified. Click on the “Utah Public Health Laboratory (UPHL) specimen submission” dropdown menu below for more information.
To establish or troubleshoot electronic reporting, contact the Electronic Data Exchange team at [email protected].
*For more detailed information, please refer to R386-702 Communicable Disease Rule.
The Communicable Disease Rule has specific requirements for hospitals and clinics depending on their size and function.
All healthcare facilities with an emergency department are required to report emergency department encounters via Syndromic Surveillance (SyS). Utah DHHS may also collect hospital and clinic data. Refer to the SyS CDR Supplemental Document v.1 for specific requirements for SyS.
Acute care hospitals (Defined as “a hospital that offers emergency care 24 hours a day”*)
- Report via Electronic Case Reporting (eCR)
Other hospitals and clinics
- Report via Electronic Case Reporting (eCR); or
- Report to a local health department
All reporters should call 888-EPI-UTAH (888-374-8824) to report an immediately notifiable condition (listed above).
Refer to the eCR CDR Supplemental Document v.1 for specific requirements for eCR.
To establish or troubleshoot electronic reporting, contact the Electronic Data Exchange team at [email protected].
*For more detailed information, refer to R386-702 Communicable Disease Rule.
Disease reports can come from anyone, not just laboratories, hospitals, or clinics. Some examples include:
- Blood and plasma donation centers
- Childcare programs and facilities
- Correctional facilities
- Other healthcare facilities and providers, such as:
- Birthing centers
- Dialysis centers
- Mental health facilities
- Nursing care facilities
- Pharmacies or other dispensaries
- Schools
Generally, these reporters should begin by contacting a local health department. They can take disease reports directly and refer the reporter to specific teams at DHHS when appropriate. To contact DHHS, email [email protected] or call 801-538-6191.
Public health reporting measure |
Public health reporting contact |
|
Electronic Case Reporting (eCR) |
Division of Population Health Informatics Program |
|
Division of Population Health Informatics Program |
|
|
Syndromic Surveillance Reporting (SyS) |
Division of Population Health Informatics Program |
|
Carrie Bateman Phone: 801-581-8407 |
|
|
Utah Statewide Immunization System (USIIS) |
- Patient information
This includes the full name, date of birth, sex, address, and phone number of the patient. - Diagnostic information
This includes the name and phone number of the diagnostic facility (where the patient sought care); the full name and phone number of the healthcare provider; and the diagnosis or condition being reported. - Reporter information
This includes the name and phone number of the person or facility reporting the case. - Disease information
Each report requires additional information depending on the disease being reported. Check the ELR and eCR supplemental documents for these requirements.
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) mandates that certain diseases and conditions be reported to public health. The data is used to monitor disease activity throughout the state; identify new or emerging diseases and outbreaks; control disease and outbreaks through public health interventions; and prevent the spread of disease through education.
DHHS participates in the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS); a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), health departments throughout the U.S., and the Council for State and Territorial Health Departments (CSTE) to collect standardized data for assessment at the national level.
Disease reporting is mandated by states and shared voluntarily with CDC through the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS), an integrated and interoperable public health surveillance system. NNDSS data is published nationally by CDC.
Additional resources
Utah Code 26B-7-2, Detection and Management of Chronic and Communicable Diseases and Public Health Emergencies, gives the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) authority to investigate and control communicable diseases and epidemic infections which may affect the public’s health. This law allows DHHS to identify diseases that must be reported, and establish rules for how those diseases should be identified, reported, investigated, and controlled. DHHS establishes these rules through the Utah Communicable Disease Rule R386-702.
Public health in Utah also has the authority to collect any records or other materials necessary to conduct a thorough investigation. This may include medical records, additional laboratory testing results, treatment and vaccination history, clinical material, or contact information for cases, suspect cases, or persons potentially exposed.
The Communicable Disease Rule is reviewed and updated regularly as disease conditions change. The most recent update became effective on June 1, 2026. Here is a summary of the changes.
- 2026 R386-702 Communicable Disease Rule Update Summary
- Filing for public comment (includes additional rule analysis)
The Privacy Rule in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 defines all medical records or other identifiable healthcare related information collected by healthcare entities as protected health information (PHI). HIPAA states that a healthcare entity must obtain the individual’s consent prior to using or disclosing that individual’s PHI.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule also states that healthcare entities do not need to obtain an individual’s consent to share PHI with public health when public health is authorized by law to collect and receive the reported data. In Utah, this authority is established through the Utah Administrative Code and Rules.
Additional resources
- Guidance on reporting communicable diseases and providing information for public health investigations under Utah law and HIPAA
- HIPAA Privacy Rule and Public Health: Guidance from CDC and HHS
- HIPAA Disclosures for Public Health Activities
Mandatory specimen submission requirements
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) mandates that laboratories submit clinical material from patients identified with certain organisms to the Utah Public Health Laboratory (UPHL) within 3 working days of identification.
Organisms that require standard submission
- Campylobacter species
- Candida auris or haemulonii from any body site
- Carbapenem resistant:
- Acinetobacter species
- Any Enterobacterales organism
- Klebsiella species
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa that is not susceptible to:
- ceftolozane/tazobactam or
- cefepime or ceftazidime
- Carbapenemase producing:
- Acinetobacter species
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- any Enterobacterales organism, including Enterobacter species, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella species
- Corynebacterium diphtheriae
- Cronobacter sakazakii, from a normally sterile site in a person younger than 12 months old
- Haemophilus influenzae, from normally sterile sites
- Influenza A virus, unsubtypeable
- Influenza virus (hospitalized cases only)
- Legionella species
- Listeria monocytogenes
- Measles (rubeola) virus
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex
- Neisseria meningitidis, from normally sterile sites
- Salmonella species
- Any SARS-CoV-2 NAAT-positive sample
- Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), including enrichment and/or MacConkey broths that tested positive by any method for Shiga toxin
- Shigella species
- Staphylococcus aureus with resistance to vancomycin (VRSA)
- Vibrio species
- West Nile virus
- Yersinia species
- Zika virus
Any organism implicated in an outbreak, when instructed or authorized by local or state health department personnel.
Organisms that require bioterrorism submission
For the following organisms, laboratories must first notify UPHL via telephone immediately. UPHL can be contacted during business hours at 801-965-2400, or after hours at 801-560-6586.
- Bacillus anthracis
- Brucella species
- Clostridium botulinum
- Francisella tularensis
- Yersinia pestis
Clinical material is defined as:
- A clinical isolate containing the organism.
- If an isolate is not available, material containing the organism in the following preference MUST be submitted:
- A patient specimen
- Nucleic acid
- Other laboratory material
Additional resources
- UPHL antibiotic-resistant lab network (includes submission guidance)
- UPHL infectious diseases laboratory (includes submission guidance)
Last updated: July 21, 2025
In order to meet the Public Health Reporting Objective for the Promoting Interoperability (PI) Program and/or MIPS/Advancing Care Information Quality Payment Program, Eligible Professionals (EPs), Eligible Hospitals (EHs) or Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) may register for the Public Health Reporting Objective with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has incentivized participation in these programs through its Promoting Interoperability (formerly known as Meaningful Use) initiatives. For general information on these initiatives, visit the CMS website. For information specific to the Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Program, which is administered at the state rather than federal level, visit Medicaid Interoperability – Utah Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid.
DHHS Promoting Interoperability Public Health Program readiness
| Public health reporting measure | Program readiness | Data reporting standards | Public health reporting contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immunization Registry Reporting | Ready for active engagement and accepts data. | Bi-directional exchange using HL7 2.5.1, Release 1.5 (PDF) and HL7 2.5.1 Release 1.5 Addendum (PDF) |
Utah Statewide Immunization System (USIIS) |
| Syndromic Surveillance | Ready for active engagement and accepts data. | HL7 Version 2.5.1 Implementation Guide: Syndromic Surveillance (PDF) | PHIN Messaging Guide for Syndromic Surveillance, Release 2.0 (PDF) | [Erratum (PDF) | Clarification (PDF) |
Division of Population Health Informatics Program |
| Electronic Case Reporting (eCR) | Ready for active engagement and accepts data. | HL7 CDA® elCR v3.1.1 or v1.1 |
Division of Population Health Informatics Program |
| Electronic Laboratory Reporting (ELR) | Ready for active engagement and accepts data. | HL7 Version 2.5.1 |
Division of Population Health Informatics Program |
| Cancer Registry Reporting | Ready for active engagement and accepts data. | HL7 CDA® R2, DSTU Release 2 |
Carrie Bateman Phone: 801-581-8407 |
Active engagement
The Active Engagement process is the same for the Promoting Interoperability (PI) Program and/or Quality Payment Program.
An Eligible Professional (EP), Eligible Hospital (EH), or Critical Access Hospital (CAH) must demonstrate active engagement by demonstrating any of the following:
- Completed registration: Facility has registered to submit data.
- Testing and validation: Facility is in the process of testing and validating electronic submission of data.
- Production: Facility has completed testing and validation and is electronically submitting production data.
How to proceed
If you have already registered and want a status update, please contact the individual(s) listed in the table above for the applicable Utah public health program(s).
If you are not sure how to proceed, please refer to the Promoting Interoperability (PI) Programs website and/or Quality Payment Program website.
Step 1: Register intent
If you would like to register your intent to participate in the following reporting measures with DHHS, please do so here DHHS Reporting Registration
Step 2: Await further instructions
After DHHS receives your online registration, you will be contacted and given information about next steps for each reporting measure for which you registered.
The “Promoting Interoperability Program Contact Person” listed on the registration form will be the point of contact for all communications from the DHHS. Please make sure this person is ready to respond to the DHHS communications within 30 days via phone or email.
Promoting Interoperability resources
-
- Utah Medicaid EHR Incentive Program
- Utah Medicaid HIT/EHR send an email to >[email protected]
- Electronic Health Records (Promoting Interoperability (PI) Programs)
- Quality Payment Program
More questions?
Once you have reviewed this information and cited material, if you have questions regarding PI Public Health Agency Reporting, feel free to contact the individuals listed in the table above for each applicable public health program.