It is mandated by law that certain communicable (infectious) diseases be
reported to the local health department (LHD) when there is a positive test or
disease diagnosis. By documenting age, gender, ethnicity, and addresses
for all reportable STDs, local (County or City) and State health departments
can establish a database for monitoring disease trends and planning
interventions. Although the personal information of the patient is attached to
the diagnosis, the reporting process is highly confidential. All identifying
information is removed from disease data that is sent to the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC). This way patient confidentiality is maintained while
CDC is still able to monitor State and local trends.
Positive Test Patient ID to LHJ Patient ID to State without IDs
to CDC
The Health Department disease database has several critical purposes,
including to:
(1) monitor the trends of different diseases;
(2) plan appropriate responses to disease outbreaks or epidemics;
(3) target the distribution of resources to the most critical geographical
areas (i.e., build clinics, distribute vaccines, apply for grants, etc.);
(4) monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of these responses, and if
need be,
(5) declare a public emergency to protect the public’s health.
In California the following STDs are reportable and non-reportable:
Reportable Not Reportable
Chlamydia Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
Gonorrhea Genital Herpes (HSV)
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) Trichomoniasis
Non-Gonococcal Urethritis (NGU)
– (NGU) is no longer reportable as of January, 2007)

• Syphilis
• Chancroid
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• AIDS
• HIV Infection (as of April, 2006)
• Note: Shigella, Hepatitis A, Giardia, Entamoeba, and Cryptosporidium are also reportable and can besexually transmitted.
  *Acute is an infection of 6 months or less and Chronic is an infection of more than 6 months.
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III. Benefits of Data Collection

STD data are used to:

•  Track trends over time
•  Allocate funds for testing, treatment, prevention, and research
•  Assure correct treatment of individual cases
•  Notify sex and needle sharing partners of exposure for testing
  and treatment
•  Identify and fight outbreaks when they happen
•  Conduct program planning & community advocacy

IV. Limitations of Data

• Reported data only includes those patients who seek care, get
  diagnosed and tested, and have a provider and/or laboratory who
  reports that diagnosis. It is estimated that there may be 2 to 5
  times more cases per year than are actually reported.
• Race and ethnicity data are not as well captured in STD reporting.
  Race and ethnicity are not specified in about one fourth of all the
  reported cases in California and even up to two thirds of the cases in
  some health jurisdictions.
• Sometimes an increase in incidence can be due to increased
  screening or better reporting. Therefore, although the numbers go
  up, it doesn’t always necessarily mean there is more disease
  transmission, sometimes just more detection of disease that is
  already present in the population.
• Estimates for STDs that are not reportable are based on studies and
  then calculated for larger populations. Depending on how the study
  was conducted, this can affect the estimated verses actual rates.
  Some national data (like NHANES) may be extrapolated for state
  data based on percent of population alone