Report an Illness

This page includes information on infectious disease reporting, including foodborne illnesses, infectious disease reporting for health care providers, and school, child care and long-term care guidance.

Columbus Public Health helps stop the spread of disease in our community by tracking and investigating infectious diseases and providing guidance and monitoring to affected individuals.

Reporting cases of infectious diseases and related conditions is a vital step in controlling and preventing the spread of communicable disease. By law, a number of infectious diseases must be reported in Ohio.

Foodborne Illness Reporting

Many things can cause illness when people eat food or drink water. Columbus Public Health reviews reports of illness from the community and food business owners.

Foodborne Illness Reporting

  •  If you think you have eaten or drank something that made you ill, please fill out this survey here.
  • A Columbus Public Health staff member will review the information and reach out if additional information or samples are needed.

For General Food Business Complaints

Visit the Food Protection Program for more information. 

Infectious Disease Reporting for Health Care Providers

Infectious Disease Reporting for Health Care Providers

The Infectious Disease Reporting System is the combined reporting system for health care in Columbus and Franklin County, making the reporting, tracking and investigation of infectious disease cases easier and more convenient.

Visit IDRS for more information.

School, Child Care Center and Long-Term Care Facility Questions & Guidance

Do you have questions or need guidance about your facilities on a variety of infectious diseases, as well as information for disease prevention and control?

Contact us at 614-645-1474 (option 2) or IDI@Columbus.gov.

What Is A Communicable Disease?

A communicable disease is any disease that spreads from one person to another.

Communicable diseases can be spread by:

  • Direct physical contact with an infected person, such as through touch (staphylococcus), sexual intercourse (gonorrhea, HIV), fecal/oral transmission (hepatitis A), or large respiratory droplets from coughs and sneezes (influenza, TB).
  • Contact with a contaminated surface or object (Norwalk virus), food (salmonella, E. coli), blood (HIV, hepatitis B) or water (cholera).
  • Bites from insects or animals capable of transmitting the disease (mosquito- malaria and yellow fever; flea- plague).
  • Breathing small respiratory droplets that travel through the air, such as tuberculosis or measles.

Specific diseases and disease outbreaks are reportable. Ohio Administrative Code 3701-3 requires that these diseases and outbreaks be reported to the local health department. Personal health information is confidential. Our team closely monitors these diseases to:

  • Identify patterns of spread or emerging trends and outbreaks.
  • Prevent further spread with public health interventions.
  • Share helpful information about diseases with our community.

 

 

Contact

Infectious Disease Investigation
614-645-1474
Email 

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