[30 Pa.B. 2715]
[Continued from previous Web Page] (c) An unusual or group expression of illness which the Department designates as a public health emergency shall be reported within 24 hours, and in accordance with the requirements of § 27.4.
§ 27.4. [Noncommunicable diseases and conditions] Reporting cases.
[(a) Diseases and conditions shall be reported where the reports are needed to enable the Secretary to determine and employ the most efficient and practical means to protect and promote the health of residents of this Commonwealth. Reporting of these diseases and conditions shall be requested to include statistical data needed for specific studies and research projects approved by the Board.
(b) The following diseases and conditions shall be reported as follows:
(1) Lead poisoning or lead toxicity in children up to age 6 and in pregnant women, as evidenced by a confirmed blood lead level of 25 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) or higher and by an erythrocyte protoporphyrin level of 35 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) or higher shall be reported to the Division of Environmental Health, Department of Health, Post Office Box 90, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17108-9990.
(2) Increased lead absorption in persons age 6 and above, as evidenced by a confirmed blood lead level of 40 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) or higher, shall be reported to the Division of Environmental Health, Department of Health, Post Office Box 90, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17108-9990.]
(a) Except for reporting by a clinical laboratory, a case is to be reported to the LMRO serving the area in which a case resides unless another provision of this chapter directs that a particular type of case is to be reported elsewhere. If the residence of the case is unknown, the case is to be reported to the LMRO serving the area in which the case is identified. A clinical laboratory shall make reports to the appropriate office of the Department unless otherwise specified.
(b) Department offices to which this chapter requires specified case reports to be filed are as follows:
(1) Cancer Registry, Division of Health Statistics, Bureau of Health Statistics and Research.
(2) Division of Communicable Disease Epidemiology, Bureau of Epidemiology.
(3) Division of Immunizations, Bureau of Communicable Diseases.
(4) Division of Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bureau of Communicable Diseases.
(5) Division of Environmental Health Assessment, Bureau of Epidemiology.
(6) HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Section, Bureau of Epidemiology.
(7) Division of Maternal and Child Health, Bureau of Family Health.
(c) A case shall be reported using the appropriate case report format. Information solicited by the case report form shall be provided by the reporter, irrespective of whether the report is made by submitting the form directly in hard copy or by telecommunication or electronic submission. An appropriate case report form or format may be procured from the office to which the type of case is reportable.
§ 27.5. [Cancer Registry] (Reserved).
[A hospital and laboratory where cancer is diagnosed or treated or both shall report their finding to the Cancer Registry, Department of Health, State Health Data Center, Health and Welfare Building, Post Office Box 90, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17108.]
§ 27.5a. Confidentiality of case reports.
Case reports submitted to the Department or to an LMRO are confidential. Neither the reports, nor information contained in them which identifies or is perceived by the Department or the LMRO as capable of being used to identify a person named in a report, will be disclosed to any person who is not an authorized employe or agent of the Department or the LMRO, except for any of the following reasons:
(1) When disclosure is necessary to carry out a purpose of the act, as determined by the Department or the LMRO, and disclosure would not violate another act or regulation.
(2) When disclosure is made for a research purpose for which access to the information has been granted by the Department or an LMRO. Access shall be granted only when disclosure would not violate another act or regulation. The research shall be subject to strict supervision by the LMRO to ensure that the use of information disclosed is limited to the specific research purpose and will not involve the further disclosure of information which identifies or is perceived as being able to be used to identify a person named in a report.
§ 27.6. Disciplinary consequences for violating reporting responsibilities.
(a) Failure of a clinical laboratory to comply with the reporting provisions of this chapter may result in restrictions being placed upon or revocation of the laboratory's permit to operate as a clinical laboratory, as provided for in The Clinical Laboratory Act (35 P. S. §§ 2151--2165).
(b) Failure of a Department licensed health care facility to comply with the reporting provisions of this chapter may result in restrictions being placed upon or revocation of the health care facility's license, as provided for in the Health Care Facilities Act (35 P. S. §§ 448.101--448.904b).
(c) Failure of a health care practitioner to comply with the reporting provisions of this chapter may result in referral of that matter to the appropriate licensure board for disciplinary action.
§ 27.7. Cooperation between clinical laboratories and persons who order laboratory tests.
To facilitate the reporting of cases by clinical laboratories, the following are required:
(1) When a clinical laboratory is requested to conduct a test which, depending upon the results, would impose a reporting duty upon the clinical laboratory, the clinical laboratory shall provide to the person who requests the testing, a form that solicits the information which is required for completion of the applicable case report form.
(2) A person who orders testing subject to paragraph (1) shall, at the time of ordering the test, provide the clinical laboratory with the information solicited by the form which that person either possesses or may readily obtain.
§ 27.8. Criminal penalties for violating the act or this chapter.
(a) A person who violates a provision of the act or this chapter shall, for each offense, upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding before a district justice in the county wherein the offense was committed, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $25 and not more than $300, together with costs, and in default of payment of the fine and costs, shall be imprisoned in the county jail for a period not to exceed 30 days.
(b) A person afflicted with communicable tuberculosis, ordered to be quarantined or isolated in an institution, who leaves without consent of the medical director of the institution, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500, or undergo imprisonment for not less than 30 days nor more than 6 months, or both.
(c) Prosecutions may be instituted by the Department, by a local health authority, or by a person having knowledge of a violation of the act or this chapter.
§ 27.9. Authorized departures from the regulations.
The Department may authorize an exception to any regulation in this chapter, which does not repeat a statutory requirement, if the regulation becomes outdated due to medical or public health developments and the exception is determined by the Department to be necessary to protect the health of the people of this Commonwealth. The exception will not remain in effect for more than 90 days unless the Board acts to affirm the exception within that 90-day period.
Subchapter B. REPORTING OF DISEASES, INFECTIONS AND CONDITIONS
GENERAL § 27.21. [Physicians who treat patients with reportable diseases including tuberculosis] Reporting of AIDS cases by physicians.
[(a) A physician who treats or examines a person who is suffering from or who is suspected of having a reportable disease or a person who is suspected of being a carrier or who is infected asymptomatically shall make a prompt report of the disease or condition to the local board. Physicians are not required to report cases of cancer.
(b) In a municipality not served by a local board, reports shall be made to the State health center of the Department. In a county designated by the Board as a county morbidity reporting area, reports shall be made to the State health center.
(c) The report shall be on a standard type Suspected Case Notification form, or cases may be reported by telephone. The report shall state the name of the patient or carrier, the address at which the patient or carrier may be located, the date of onset of the disease and the name, address and telephone number of the attending physician.
(d) Reports of venereal diseases shall include the stage of the disease. These reports shall be mailed in an enclosed and sealed standard type Suspected Case Notification form to the health authorities of Philadelphia, Allegheny County and other county departments of health authorized by the Department to receive reports when the patients are residents of the city or counties. Other cases shall be reported directly to the Division of Communicable Disease Control and Surveillance, Bureau of Epidemiology and Disease Prevention, Department of Health, Post Office Box 90, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17108. Physicians shall report only laboratory confirmed cases of chlamydia trachomatic infections.
(e) Physicians shall report cases of AIDS under § 27.32 (relating to reporting AIDS).] A physician is required to report a case of AIDS within 5 work days after it is identified to the local health department if the case resides within the jurisdiction of that local health department. In all other cases, the physician shall report the case to the HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Section, Bureau of Epidemiology.
§ 27.21a. Reporting of cases by health care practitioners and health care facilities.
(a) The following diseases, infections and conditions in humans are reportable by health care practitioners and health care facilities within the specified time periods:
(1) The following diseases, infections and conditions are reportable within 24 hours after being identified:
Botulism.
Cholera.
Diphtheria.
Food poisoning outbreak.
Haemophilus influenzae type B invasive disease.
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
Hemorrhagic fever.
Hepatitis, viral, including type A and type E.
Lead poisoning.
Measles (rubeola).
Meningococcal invasive disease.
Plague.
Poliomyelitis.
Rabies.
Typhoid fever.(2) The following diseases, infections and conditions are reportable within 5 work days after being identified:
Amebiasis.
Animal bite.
Anthrax.
Arbovirus disease.
Brucellosis.
Campylobacteriosis.
Cancer.
Chancroid.
Chickenpox (varicella) (effective_____ (Editor's
Note: The blank refers to a date 3 years from the
date of the adoption of the final-form rule-
making.)
Chlamydia trachomatis infections.
Cryptosporidiosis.
Encephalitis.
Enterohemorrhagic E. coli.
Giardiasis.
Gonococcal infections.
Granuloma inguinale.
Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Hepatitis, viral, including type B, type C, type D,
type G.
Histoplasmosis.
Influenza.
Legionnaires' disease.
Leprosy (Hansen's disease).
Leptospirosis.
Listeriosis.
Lyme disease.
Lymphogranuloma venereum.
Malaria.
Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) in children up
to 5 years/60 months of age.
Meningitis (All types not caused by invasive
Haemophilus influenza or Neisseria meningitis).
Mumps.
Pertussis (whooping cough).
Phenylketonuria (PKU) in children up to 5 years or
60 months of age.
Primary congenital hypothyroidism in children up
to 5 years or 60 months of age.
Psittacosis (ornithosis).
Rickettsial diseases.
Rubella (German measles) and congenital rubella
syndrome.
Salmonellosis.
Shigellosis.
Sickle cell hemoglobinopathies in children up to 5
years or 60 months of age.
Streptococcal invasive disease (group A).
Syphilis (all stages).
Tetanus.
Toxic shock syndrome.
Toxoplasmosis.
Trichinosis.
Tuberculosis (all sites).
Tularemia.
Yellow fever.(b) Except as otherwise set forth in this section, a health care practitioner or health care facility is required to report a case, as specified in § 27.4 (relating to reporting cases), if the health care practitioner or health care facility treats or examines a person who is suffering from, or who the health care practitioner suspects of having, a reportable disease, infection or condition.
(1) A health care practitioner or health care facility is not required to report a case if that health care practitioner or health care facility has reported the case previously.
(2) A health care practitioner or health care facility is not required to report a case of influenza unless the disease is confirmed by laboratory evidence of the causative agent.
(3) A health care practitioner or health care facility is not required to report a case of chlamydia trachomatis infection unless the disease is confirmed by laboratory evidence of the infectious agent.
(c) A school nurse shall report to the LMRO any unusual increase in the number of absentees among school children.
(d) A health care facility providing screening, diagnostic or therapeutic services to patients with respect to cancer shall also report cases of cancer as specified in § 27.31 (relating to reporting cases of cancer).
§ 27.22. [Reporting laboratory results indicative of certain infections or conditions] Reporting of cases by clinical laboratories.
(a) A person who is in charge of a clinical laboratory in which a laboratory examination of a specimen derived from [the] a human body yields [microscopical, cultural, immunological, serological, chemical or other] evidence significant from a public health standpoint of the presence of a disease, infection or condition listed in subsection (b) shall promptly report [promptly] the findings, [not] no later than the next [working] work day after the close of business on the day on which the examination was completed, except as [noted] otherwise noted in this chapter.
(b) The [conditions or] diseases, infections and conditions [or diseases] to be reported include the following:
Amebiasis.
Anthrax.
An unusual cluster of isolates.
Arboviruses (limited to Eastern, Western and St.
Louis encephalitis.
Botulism--all forms.
Brucellosis.
Campylobacteriosis.
Cancer.
Chancroid.
Chickenpox (varicella).
Chlamydia trachomatis infections.
Cholera.
Diphtheria infections.
Enterohemorrhagic E. coli 0157 infections, or infec
tions caused by other subtypes producing shiga-
like toxin.
Giardiasis.
Gonococcal infections.
Granuloma inguinale.
Haemophilus influenzae type [b disease] B in
fections--invasive from sterile sites.
Hantavirus.
Hepatitis, viral, including types A [and], B, C, D, E
and G.
Influenza.
[Hypothyroidism in infants up to 24 months old.
Histoplasmosis.]
Lead poisoning [or toxicity].
Legionnaires' disease.
Leprosy (Hansen's disease).
Leptospirosis.
Listeriosis.
Lyme disease.
Lymphogranuloma venereum.
Malaria.
Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) in children up
to 5 years or 60 months of age.
Measles (rubeola).
Meningococcal [isolations] infections--invasive from
sterile sites.
Mumps.
Pertussis.
Phenylketonuria (PKU) in children up to 5 years or
60 months of age.
Primary congenital hypothyroidism in children up
to 5 years or 60 months of age.
Plague.
Poliomyelitis.
Psittacosis (ornithosis).
Rabies.
Respiratory syncytial virus.
Rickettsial infections [including Rocky Mountain
Spotted Fever].
Rubella.
Salmonella [isolations].
Shigella [isolations].
Sickle cell hemoglobinopathies in children up to 5
years or 60 months of age.
Syphilis.
Tetanus.
Trichinosis.
Tuberculosis, including results of drug susceptibility
testing.
Tularemia.
Typhoid [isolations].
[Viral infections.(i) Vaccine-preventable diseases.
(ii) Arboviruses.
(iii) Respiratory viruses.]
(c) The report shall [give] include the following: the name, age [and], address and telephone number of the person from whom the specimen was obtained; the date the specimen was collected; the name of the test or examination performed and the date it was performed; the results; [and] the name [and], address and telephone number of the physician for whom the examination or test was [made] performed; and other information requested in case reports or formats specified by the Department.
(d) The report shall be submitted by the person in charge of a laboratory [as follows:
(1) Reports except for venereal diseases, hypothyroidism in infants up to 24 months old, phenylketonuria and lead poisoning or lead toxicity. Reports shall be made to the appropriate health authority of Philadelphia or the county department of health if the patient resides in such an area. Other reports shall be sent to the Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health, Post Office Box 90, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17108.
(2) Venereal disease (including positive dark fields). Reports shall be made to the appropriate health authority of Philadelphia when the patient resides in Philadelphia and to the health authority in Allegheny County when the patient resides in Allegheny County. Other reports shall be sent to the Division of Communicable Disease Control and Surveillance, Bureau of Epidemiology and Disease Prevention, Department of Health, Post Office Box 90, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17108, unless otherwise directed by the Secretary.
(3) Phenylketonuria and hypothyroidism in infants up to 24 months old. Reports shall be made to the Division of Maternal/Child Health, Department of Health, Post Office Box 90, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17108.
(4) Lead poisoning or lead toxicity. Reports shall be made to the Division of Environmental Health, Department of Health, Post Office Box 90, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17108-9990 on forms developed and supplied by the Division of Environmental Health.], in either a hard copy format or an electronic transmission format specified by the Department.
(e) Reports shall be made to the appropriate health authority of the county or municipal department of health if it can be determined that the patient resides in one of those cities or counties. Other reports shall be submitted to the Division of Communicable Disease Epidemiology, Bureau of Epidemiology. Reports of maple syrup urine disease, phenylketonuria, primary congenital hypothyroidism, sickle cell hemoglobinopathies, cancer, sexually transmitted diseases and lead poisoning shall be reported to the location specifically designated in this subchapter. See §§ 27.30, 27.31, 27.33 and 27.34.
(f) A clinical laboratory shall submit isolates of salmonella and shigella to the Department's Bureau of Laboratories for serotyping within 5 work days of isolation.
(g) A clinical laboratory shall submit isolates of Neisseria meningitidis obtained from a normally sterile site to the Department's Bureau of Laboratories for serogrouping within 5 work days of isolation.
(h) A clinical laboratory shall send isolates of enterohemorrhagic E. coli to the Department's Bureau of Laboratories for appropriate further testing within 5 work days of isolation.
(i) A clinical laboratory shall send isolates of Haemophilus influenzae obtained from a normally sterile site to the Department's Bureau of Laboratories for serotyping within 5 work days of isolation.
(j) The Department, upon publication of a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, may authorize changes in the requirements for submission of isolates based upon medical or public health developments when the departure is determined by the Department to be necessary to protect the health of the people of this Commonwealth. The change will not remain in effect for more than 90 days after publication unless the Board acts to affirm the change within that 90-day period.
(k) A clinical laboratory shall make case reports of tuberculosis to the Philadelphia Department of Health when the patient resides in Philadelphia County and to the Allegheny County Health Department when the patient resides in Allegheny County. The clinical laboratory shall send all other reports of tuberculosis to the Department's Division of Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bureau of Communicable Diseases unless otherwise directed by the Department.
§ 27.23. [School reports of communicable diseases] Reporting of cases by persons other than health care practitioners, health care facilities, veterinarians or laboratories.
[(a) School nurses shall report the presence of suspected reportable disease to the local health authority in accordance with existing requirements of the local health authority. A copy of this report shall be sent to the school administration.
(b) An unusual increase in the number of absentees among school children shall be reported to the local health authority by the school nurse.]
Except as otherwise set forth in this section, and except with respect to reporting cancer, individuals in charge of the following types of group facilities shall have the same reporting responsibilities as health care practitioners have under § 27.21a (relating to reporting of cases by health care practitioners and health care facilities):
(1) Institutions maintaining dormitories and living rooms.
(2) Orphanages.
(3) Child care group settings.
§ 27.24. [Reports by heads of institutions] (Reserved).
[(a) Superintendents of hospitals or other persons in charge of an institution for the treatment of disease or of an institution maintaining dormitories and living rooms or of an orphanage shall notify the local health authorities having jurisdiction over the area in which the institution is located and the district director or county health officer upon the occurrence in or admission to the institution of a patient with a reportable disease and shall thereafter follow the advice and instructions of the health authorities for controlling the disease, but the notification may not relieve physicians of their duty to report in the manner set forth in § 27.21 (relating to physicians who treat patients with reportable diseases including tuberculosis), cases which they may treat or examine in any such institution.
(b) Persons in charge of hospitals shall report cases of AIDS under § 27.32 (relating to reporting AIDS).]
§ 27.24a. Reporting of cases by veterinarians.
A veterinarian is required to report a case, as specified in § 27.4 (relating to reporting cases), only if the veterinarian treats or examines an animal which the veterinarian suspects of having a disease set forth in § 27.35(a) (relating to reporting cases of disease in animals).
§ 27.25. [Reports by other licensed health practitioners] (Reserved).
[A chiropractor, dentist, nurse, optometrist, podiatrist or other licensed health practitioner having knowledge or suspicion of a reportable disease or condition, except cancer and AIDS, shall report promptly to the local board.]
§ 27.26. [Reporting by householders and others] (Reserved).
[A householder; proprietor of a hotel, rooming, lodging or boarding house; or other person having knowledge or suspicion of a reportable disease or condition, except cancer and AIDS, shall report this knowledge or suspicion promptly to the local board.]
§ 27.27. [Revision of diagnosis by attending physician] (Reserved).
[No diagnosis of a disease for which isolation or quarantine is required may be revised without the concurrence of the county health officer or the designated representative of the Department or the medical member of the local board.]
§ 27.28. [Reporting unusual or ill-defined diseases or illnesses] (Reserved).
[A person having knowledge of the occurrence of an unusual disease or group expression of illness which may be of public concern, whether or not it is known to be of a communicable nature, shall report it promptly to the local health officer; reports shall be made to the representative of the Department district director.]
§ 27.29. Reporting [nonreportable diseases] for special research projects.
A person in charge of [an] a hospital or other institution for the treatment of disease shall [be authorized], upon request of the Department, [to] make [a report] reports of [diseases and conditions other than reportable diseases,] a disease or condition for which the Board has approved a specific study to enable the Department to determine and employ the most efficient and practical means to protect and to promote the health of the people by the prevention and control of the [diseases and conditions] disease or condition. The reports shall be made on forms prescribed by the Department and shall be transmitted to the Department or to local [boards] health authorities as directed by the Department.
DISEASES AND CONDITIONS REQUIRING SPECIAL REPORTING § 27.30. Reporting results of metabolic disease testing in the newborn child.
[In addition to the requirements that may be applicable under this chapter, testing conducted on newborn children shall be reported in accordance with Chapter 28 (relating to metabolic diseases of the newborn).]
Reports of maple syrup urine disease, phenylketonuria, primary congenital hypothyroidism and sickle cell hemoglobinopathies shall be made to the Division of Maternal and Child Health, Bureau of Family Health, as specified in Chapter 28 (relating to metabolic diseases of the newborn) and those provisions of § 27.4 (relating to reporting cases) consistent with Chapter 28 and this section.
§ 27.31. Reporting cases of cancer.
(a) A hospital [or], clinical laboratory [within this Commonwealth which is designated by the Department], or other health care facility diagnosing or providing treatment to cancer patients shall report [cases] each case of cancer [which are diagnosed or treated, or both, at the hospital or the laboratory] to the Department[. These reports shall be submitted on forms] in a format prescribed by the Cancer Registry, Bureau of Health Statistics and Research, within [90] 180 days of the patient's discharge, if an inpatient or, if an outpatient, within [90] 180 days following diagnosis or initiation of treatment. [Hospitals and laboratories shall report, in addition to other information, the patient's name, address, sex, race, date of birth, cancer site and histology. Copies of laboratory reports shall be attached by the hospital or laboratory to the prescribed form.]
(b) A health care practitioner diagnosing or providing treatment to cancer patients shall report each cancer case to the Department in a format prescribed by the Cancer Registry, Bureau of Health Statistics and Research, within 5 work days of diagnosis. Cases directly referred to or previously admitted to a hospital or other health care facility providing screening, diagnostic or therapeutic services to cancer patients in this Commonwealth, and reported by those facilities, are exceptions and do not need to be reported by the health care practitioner.
(c) The Department or its authorized representative shall be afforded physical access to all records of physicians and surgeons, hospitals, outpatient clinics, nursing homes and all other facilities, individuals or agencies providing services to patients which would identify cases of cancer or would establish characteristics of the cancer, treatment of the cancer or medical status of an identified cancer patient.
[(b)] (d) [The reports] Reports submitted [to the Cancer Registry] under this section are confidential and may not be open to public inspection or dissemination. Information for specific research purposes may be released in accordance with procedures established by the Department with the advice of the [Cancer Advisory Board] Pennsylvania Cancer Control, Prevention and Research Advisory Board.
(e) Case reports of cancer shall be sent to the Cancer Registry, Bureau of Health Statistics and Research, unless otherwise directed by the Department.
§ 27.32. [Reporting AIDS] (Reserved).
[(a) Physicians and hospitals shall report cases of AIDS promptly to the Department of Health, Division of Acute Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Post Office Box 90, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17108, or to the local health department in the counties of Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Erie and Philadelphia and in the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and York when the individual who is the subject of the report is a resident of the county or city.
(b) Local health authorities receiving reports of AIDS cases shall forward completed case report forms to the Department of Health in a timely manner. Completed forms shall provide identifying information, including but not limited to, the name of the case, the individual's address and telephone number, the name of the individual's medical provider and the reporting source.]
§ 27.33. Reporting cases of sexually transmitted disease.
(a) Reportable sexually transmitted diseases and infections are as follows:
(i) Chancroid.
(ii) Chlamydia trachomatis infections.
(iii) Gonococcal infections.
(iv) Granuloma inguinale.
(v) Lymphogranuloma venereum.
(vi) Syphilis.
(b) Case reports of these diseases and infections, except for cases of syphilis to be reported by a clinical laboratory, shall be made to the appropriate health authority of the county or municipal health department when the patient resides in a city or county that has its own health department. Other reports of sexually transmitted diseases shall be submitted to the Division of Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bureau of Communicable Diseases, unless otherwise directed by the Department.
(c) A clinical laboratory making a case report of syphilis shall make the report to the Philadelphia Department of Health when the patient resides in Philadelphia County and to the Allegheny County Health Department when the patient resides in Allegheny County. A clinical laboratory shall make other reports to the Division of Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bureau of Communicable Diseases, unless otherwise directed by the Department.
§ 27.34. Reporting cases of lead poisoning.
(a) A clinical laboratory shall report all blood lead test results on both venous and capillary specimens for persons under 16 years of age and pregnant women to the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, Division of Maternal and Child Health, Bureau of Family Health.
(1) A clinical laboratory which conducts blood lead tests of 100 or more specimens per month shall submit results electronically in a format specified by the Department.
(2) A clinical laboratory which conducts blood lead tests of less than 100 blood lead specimens per month shall submit results either electronically or by hard copy in the format specified by the Department.
(b) A clinical laboratory shall report cases of lead poisoning in persons 16 years of age or older as evidenced by a venous blood lead level of 25 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) or higher, to the Division of Environmental Health Assessment, Bureau of Epidemiology, or to other locations as designated by the Department.
(1) The Department may change this reporting level to comply with regulatory requirements or guidelines of Federal environmental or occupational health agencies by publishing a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin to this effect no later than 60 days before the change is implemented.
(2) The change will not remain in effect for more than 90 days after publication unless the Board acts to affirm the change within that 90-day period.
(c) A laboratory which performs blood lead tests on blood specimens collected in this Commonwealth shall be licensed as a clinical laboratory and shall be specifically approved by the Department to conduct those tests.
(d) Blood lead analyses requested for occupational health purposes on blood specimens collected in this Commonwealth shall be performed only by laboratories which are licensed and approved as specified in subsection (c), and which are also approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States Department of Labor under 29 CFR 1910.1025(j)(2)(iii) (relating to lead).
(e) A physician under whose authorization blood is collected for a blood lead test is responsible for assuring that all of the information requested on the case report form is forwarded to the clinical laboratory along with the specimen. Failure of the physician to provide the requested information to the clinical laboratory may result in disciplinary consequences as specified in § 27.6(c) (relating to disciplinary consequences for violating reporting responsibilities).
(f) A clinical laboratory shall complete a blood lead test within 5 work days of the receipt of the blood specimen and shall submit the case report to the Department no later than the close of business of the next work day after the day on which the test was performed. The clinical laboratory shall submit a report of lead poisoning using either the hard-copy form or electronic transmission format specified by the Department.
(g) When a clinical laboratory receives a blood specimen without all of the information required for reporting purposes, the clinical laboratory shall test the specimen and shall submit the incomplete report to the Department as described in subsection (f).
(h) A clinical laboratory shall proceed as follows when a blood specimen is received with missing information:
(1) Within 5 days after the receipt of the blood specimen, the clinical laboratory shall return the incomplete report form to the person who submitted the specimen. The clinical laboratory shall include with the form a letter instructing the submitter to complete all missing information on the form and return the form to the laboratory within 14 days of the date of the letter.
(2) Within 1 day after receipt of the completed form from the person who submitted the specimen, the clinical laboratory shall forward a report containing all requested information to the Department.
(i) If the person who submitted the specimen does not enter the missing items of information and return the completed form to the clinical laboratory within the time period specified in subsection (h)(1), the clinical laboratory shall notify the Department using either the hard-copy form or electronic reporting format specified by the Department. The clinical laboratory shall submit this information to the Department within 2 weeks of the due date for return of completed forms by the person who submitted the specimen. This information shall include:
(1) The name and address of the person who submitted the specimen.
(2) The name of the patient.
(3) The date of specimen collection.
(4) The date of specimen analysis.
(5) Other information as requested by the Department.
(j) A clinical laboratory that fails to report applicable results or to notify the Department of a person who submits a specimen without providing complete information shall be subject to revocation of approval to perform blood lead tests or other disciplinary action.
§ 27.35. Reporting cases of disease in animals.
(a) The following diseases, infections and conditions in animals are reportable to the Division of Communicable Disease Epidemiology, Bureau of Epidemiology, as specified in § 27.4 (relating to reporting cases) within 5 work days after being identified:
Anthrax.
Arboviruses.
Brucellosis.
Plague.
Psittacosis.
Rabies.
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies.
Tuberculosis.
Tularemia.Any disease, infection or condition covered by § 27.3(b) (relating to reporting outbreaks and unusual diseases, infections and conditions.)
(b) This chapter applies to only animals having or suspected of having one of the diseases, infections or conditions listed in subsection (a).
[REPORTS BY LOCAL HEALTH OFFICERS]
REPORTING BY LOCAL MORBIDITY REPORTING OFFICES § 27.41. [Individual case reports] (Reserved).
[A health officer of a municipality shall report weekly to the appropriate county health authorities on the prescribed form each individual case of reportable disease or condition which as been reported to him during the week.]
§ 27.41a. Reporting by local morbidity reporting offices of case reports received.
When an LMRO is an office of a county or municipal health authority, it shall report a case that has been reported to it to the district office for the State health district in which it is located, or to the central office when this chapter directs that reports are to be filed with that office.
§ 27.42. [Summary reports] (Reserved).
[For cases of influenza, the local health officer of a municipality shall prepare and send to the appropriate county health authorities once each week a report on the prescribed form showing the number of cases reported during that week.]
§ 27.42a. Reporting by local morbidity reporting offices of completed case investigations.
(a) When an LMRO is an office of a local health authority other than a local health department, it shall complete a case investigation report in a format and within the length of time set forth in this chapter for each case reported to it.
(b) When an LMRO is an office of a local health department, it shall submit, on a weekly basis, a case investigation report of the information from each case investigation which has resulted in confirmation of the incidence of a reportable disease, infection or condition. The report shall be submitted to the appropriate Department office as follows in a format and within the length of time set forth in this chapter:
(1) AIDS. To the HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Section, Bureau of Epidemiology.
(2) Chickenpox, diphtheria, measles, mumps, pertussis, polio, rubella and tetanus. To the Division of Immunizations, Bureau of Communicable Diseases.
(3) Chancroid, Chlamydia trachomatis infections, gonococcal infections, granuloma inguinale, Lymphogranuloma venereum, syphilis and tuberculosis. To the Division of Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bureau of Communicable Diseases.
(4) Other reportable diseases and conditions. To the Division of Communicable Disease Epidemiology, Bureau of Epidemiology.
§ 27.43. [Immediate reports by telephone or telegraph] (Reserved).
[A local health officer of a municipality shall report immediately by telephone or telegraph to the appropriate county health authorities a case or suspected case of the following:
(1) Anthrax.
(2) Botulism.
(3) Cholera.
(4) Diphtheria.
(5) Food poisoning.
(6) Measles.
(7) Plague.
(8) Poliomyelitis.
(9) Psittacosis (Ornithosis).
(10) Rabies in man.
(11) Smallpox.
(12) Yellow fever.]
§ 27.43a. Reporting by local morbidity reporting offices of outbreaks and selected diseases.
(a) When an LMRO is an office of a local health authority, it shall report an outbreak by telephone on the same day that the outbreak is reported or otherwise made known to it, as follows:
(1) AIDS. To the HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Section, Bureau of Epidemiology.
(2) Chancroid, chlamydia trachomatis infections, gonococcal infections, granuloma inguinale, lymphogranuloma venereum, syphilis and tuberculosis. To the Division of Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bureau of Communicable Diseases.
(3) Chickenpox, diphtheria, measles, mumps, pertussis, polio, rubella and tetanus. To the Division of Immunizations, Bureau of Communicable Diseases.
(4) Other reportable diseases and conditions. To the Division of Communicable Disease Epidemiology, Bureau of Epidemiology.
(b) When an LMRO is an office of a local health authority, it shall report by telephone on the same day any of the following diseases is reported or otherwise made known to it, as follows:
(1) Diphtheria, measles, pertussis and polio. To the Division of Immunizations, Bureau of Communicable Diseases.
(2) Anthrax, botulism, cholera, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, hemorrhagic fever, hepatitis A, hepatitis E, human rabies, meningitis, plague, typhoid fever and yellow fever. To the Division of Communicable Disease Epidemiology, Bureau of Epidemiology.
§ 27.44. [Destinations of reports] (Reserved).
[Morbidity reports, as outlined in §§ 27.41--27.43 (relating to individual case reports; summary reports; and immediate reports by telephone or telegraph) shall be submitted by local health officers of municipalities to the appropriate health authority as follows:
(1) The local health officer in a municipality situated in a county not organized as a county department of health shall report to the State health center.
(2) The local health officer of a municipality situated in a county organized as a county department of health shall report to the county health office.]
§ 27.45. [Reports to the Department] (Reserved).
[Health officers of cities of the first class, of county or joint county, of municipal or joint municipal departments of health and district directors shall transmit to the Harrisburg office of the Department once each week on specific disease case report forms furnished or approved for this purpose by the Department, individual specific disease case report forms and summary reports described in §§ 27.41--27.43 (relating to individual case reports; summary reports; and immediate reports by telephone or telegraph).]
§ 27.46. [Records of local health officers] (Reserved).
[A local health officer of a municipality shall maintain records that will permit the efficient function of the local department for the prevention and control of communicable diseases.]
§ 27.47. [Reports by the Department] (Reserved).
[In a county designated as a county morbidity reporting area, the State health center of the Department shall report at weekly intervals to local boards of health within the morbidity reporting area cases of communicable and noncommunicable diseases reported from the jurisdiction of that board of health.]
[REPORTING VIRAL HEPATITIS TO BLOOD BANKS] § 27.51. [Time and information reported] (Reserved).
[If, in the opinion of the Department, or of the health officer of a county department of health or of the department of health of a city of the first class, it is deemed advisable and is in the interest of public health, the health officer shall report to blood banks serving their areas the name, date of onset and other identifying information of a case of viral hepatitis.]
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