Infectious Diseases & Outbreaks

The Infectious Diseases & Outbreaks (ID&O) Division's mission is to protect the residents of Alabama and prevent illness by monitoring and investigating infectious (e.g., Salmonella, influenza, and hepatitis), zoonotic (e.g., rabies, spotted fever rickettsiosis, and West Nile fever), and environmental (e.g., Legionnaires's disease, chemical and toxin) diseases, conditions, and exposures.

Infectious Diseases & Outbreaks Partners

The Infectious Diseases & Outbreaks Division, in cooperation with the Bureau of Clinical Laboratories (BCL), Bureau of Information Technology (BIT), and Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), strive to:

• Provide a statewide network of disease surveillance for early detection and timely response to disease threats
• Conduct investigations of infectious disease outbreaks
• Implement plans to reduce the occurrence of infectious diseases
• Provide technical expertise, consultation, and assistance to healthcare professionals, institutions, and communities throughout the state
• Protect citizens from diseases caused by environmental contaminants through education

Infectious Diseases & Outbreaks News

• CDC Health Alert Network Message: Marburg Virus Disease Outbreaks in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania (April 6, 2023)
• Get updates and resources on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
• Get updates and resources on Mpox.
• Community Assessment of Knowledge and Concerns About Open Sewage and Related Illnesses in Lowndes County, Alabama (6/29/2018)
• Notice: Environmental study in Lowndes County, Alabama, fails to prove hookworm infection (4/9/2018)
• Effective 8/4/2018, the Notifiable Disease Rules (Chapter 420-4-1) have been updated. A Synopsis of the Rules Revisions is available for easy reference.
• Defining Electronic Submissions from Laboratories
• Healthcare providers who have been contacted about submitting specimens for an outbreak need to review the ID&O Partner Instructions.
• The Infectious Diseases & Outbreaks Division has the DETECT, TEST and REPORT Notifiable Diseases awareness campaign to determine Alabama's true disease burden.
• For healthcare providers interested in Ebola or other Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers, see Serious Infectious Disease Network (SIDN).
• Physicians, dentists, nurses, medical examiners, hospital administrators, nursing home administrators, lab directors, school principals, and day care directors are responsible for reporting Notifiable Diseases in Alabama. To report an Immediate Urgent or Standard Notification Notifiable Disease, please submit a Communicable Disease REPORT Card.

Infectious Diseases & Outbreaks Fast Fact Flyers

These flyers are easy to read and generally one-page education for students, parents, and patients to learn more about notifiable diseases, outbreaks, and cases of public health importance.

• Acute Flaccid Myelitis
• Acute Flaccid Myelitis Provider Guidance
• Bed Bugs
• Botulism
• C. diff
• Childcare Exclusion Supplement
• Cryptosporidium
• E. Coli
• Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68)
• Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) Spanish
• Exclusion and Readmission Criteria for Communicable Diseases in Schools and Childcare Centers
• Fifth Disease
• Food Cross Contamination
• Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease
• Head Lice
• Impetigo
• Influenza in People and Pigs
• Influenza or ILI for Long-term Care Facilities - Control Measures
• Influenza or ILI for Schools or Child Care Facilities - Control Measures
• Keep Bats Out
• Legionella
• Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus
• Meningococcal Disease and Vaccine
• Mononucleosis
• Mononucleosis - Spanish
• Norovirus and Sapovirus
• Outbreak Investigation Actions
• Psittacosis Flyer
• Rabies Flow Chart
• Rabies Prophylaxis
• Rabies Prophylaxis Providers
• Reduce Mosquitoes
• Respiratory Illness Control Measures
• Salmonella
• Scabies
• Sewage-Related Illness Prevention
• Shigella
• Shingles
• Specimen - General Public
• Specimen - Healthcare Provider
• Stop Dog Bites
• Tickborne Diseases
• Vibriosis

Additional Resources

• Not Just a Maid Service Video