Louisiana Regulations
Department of Health/Office of Public Health
Vol. 46, No. 03, Louisiana Register 2020-03-20 pp.309-311
PUBLICATION DATE: 03/20/2020
ACTION DATE: 03/12/2020
EFFECTIVE DATE: 03/06/2020
EXPIRATION DATE: 07/04/2020
PUBLICATION TYPE: Register
DOCUMENT NUMBER: 2003-030
REGISTER SOURCE: Department of Health/Office of Public Health 2020-03-12
PUBLICATION DATE: 03/12/2020
ACTION DATE: 03/12/2020
EFFECTIVE DATE: 03/06/2020
EXPIRATION DATE: 07/04/2020
PUBLICATION TYPE: Agency
DOCUMENT NUMBER: 2003-030

DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY

Department of Health

Office of Public Health

Reportable Diseases and Conditions

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

The Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health (LDH/OPH), pursuant to the emergency rulemaking authority granted by R.S. 40:4(A)(13), hereby adopts the following Emergency Rule for the protection of public health. This Emergency Rule is promulgated specifically in accordance with R.S. 49:953(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (R.S. 49:950 et seq.). The LDH/OPH expressly finds that an imminent peril to the public health, safety, or welfare requires adoption of this rule on an emergency basis.

The LDH/OPH finds it necessary to add coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to the list of reportable diseases and conditions set forth in §105 of Part II of the Sanitary Code (LAC Title 51). On January 30, 2020, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the recent COVID-19 outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC). On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency (PHE) for the United States to aid the nation’s healthcare community in responding to COVID-19. The following Emergency Rule, effective March 6, 2020, shall remain in effect for a maximum of 120 days, or until the final Rule is promulgated, whichever occurs first.

Interested persons may submit written comments to DeAnn Gruber, Bureau Director, Bureau of Infectious Diseases, Office of Public Health, 1450 Poydras St., Ste. 2136, New Orleans, LA, 70112 or faxed to (504) 568-7044.

Jimmy Guidry, MD

State Health Officer

and

Stephen R. Russo, JD,

Interim Secretary

2003#030

Title 51

PUBLIC HEALTH—SANITARY CODE

Part II. The Control of Diseases

Chapter 1. Disease Reporting Requirements

§105. Reportable Diseases and Conditions

A. - C. ...

D. The following diseases or conditions are hereby declared reportable with reporting requirements by class.

1. Class A Diseases or Conditions which Shall Require Reporting within 24 Hours

a. Class A diseases or conditions include diseases or conditions of major public health concern because of the severity of the disease or condition and the potential for epidemic spread. Class A diseases or conditions shall be reported to the Office of Public Health by telephone (or in another electronic format acceptable to the Office of Public Health) immediately upon recognition that a case, a suspected case, or a positive laboratory result is known. In addition, all cases of rare or exotic communicable diseases, unexplained death, unusual clusters of disease and all outbreaks shall be reported. Any class A disease or condition, rare or exotic communicable disease, unexplained death, or unusual cluster of disease and any disease outbreak, shall be reported to the Office of Public Health as soon as possible but no later than 24 hours from recognition that a case, a suspected case, a positive laboratory result, an unexplained death, an unusual cluster of disease, or a disease outbreak is known. The following diseases or conditions shall be classified as class A for reporting requirements:

a.i. - x. …

xi. coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19)/infections with SARS-CoV-2;

xii. diphtheria;

xiii. Enterobacteriacea, carbenum-resistant;

xiv. fish or shellfish poisoning (domoic acid poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, ciguatera, paralytic shellfish poisoning, scombroid);

xv. food-borne illness;

xvi. glanders (Burkholderia mallei);

xvii. Haemophilus influenzae (invasive infection);

xviii. influenza-associated mortality;

xix. measles (rubeola, imported or indigenous);

xx. melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei);

xxi. Neisseria meningitidis (invasive infection);

xxii. outbreaks of any infectious diseases;

xxiii. pertussis;

xxiv. plague (Yersinia pestis);

xxv. poliomyelitis (paralytic and non-paralytic);

xxvi. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, carbapenemresistant;

xxvii. Q fever (Coxiella burnettii);

xxviii. rabies (animal and human);

xxiv. ricin poisoning;

xxx. rubella (congenital syndrome);

xxxi. rubella (German measles);

xxxii. severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV);

xxxiii. Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin intermediate or resistant (VISA.VRSA);

xxxiv. staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) pulmonary poisoning;

xxxv. smallpox;

xxxvi. tularemia (Francisella tularensis);

xxxvii. viral hemorrhagic fever (Ebola, Lassa, Marburg, Crimean Congo, etc.); and

xxxviii. yellow fever.

D.2. - E.6. …

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 40:4(A)(2) and R.S. 40:5(2)(10)(11).

HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of Public Health, LR 28:1212 (June 2002), amended LR 32:1050 (June 2006), LR 34:2173 (October 2008), repromulgated LR 34:2582 (December 2008), LR 36:1014 (May 2010), repromulgated LR 36:1253 (June 2010), amended LR 39:1053 (April 2013), LR 41:2653 (December 2015), amended by the Department of Health, Office of Public Health, amended LR 45:667 (May 2019), LR 46:

§107. Laboratory and Healthcare Facility Reporting Requirements

A - E. …

F. Electronic reporting by a laboratory/facility shall include any results, negative or positive, for all components of testing indicative of the following conditions:

1. coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)/infections with SARS-CoV-2;

2. hepatitis C virus;

3. human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), including nucleotide sequences; and

4. syphilis.

G. …

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 40:4(A)(2) and R.S. 40:5(2)(10)(11).

HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of Public Health, LR 28:1214 (June 2002), amended LR 32:1052 (June 2006), LR 39:1054 (April 2013), LR 41:2655 (December 2015), amended by Department of Health, Office of Public Health, LR 45:669 (May 2019), LR 46: