Case Definitions

Case Definitions for Nationally Notifiable Infectious Diseases
(Click on the above link to review the document on the Federal HHS web site.)

In the United States, requirements for reporting diseases are mandated by state laws or regulations, and the list of reportable diseases in each state differs. In October 1990, in collaboration with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, CDC published Case Definitions for Public Health Surveillance (MMWR 1990;39(No.RR-13)[No. RR-13]), which, for the first time, provided uniform criteria for reporting cases.

This report was recently revised and provides updated uniform criteria for state health department personnel to use when reporting to CDC notifiable infectious diseases (Case Definitions for Infectious Conditions Under Public Health Surveillance (MMWR 1997;46[No. RR-10]). A revision date is listed for each case definition that has been revised. Newly generated case definitions that have not been published previously are designated as "adopted" on the specified date.

The MMWR series of publications is published by the Epidemiology Program Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.