Purpose: To prevent and control the spread of infectious disease.
Investigation & Surveillance
There are over 60 infectious diseases in the State of Illinois which must be reported to the Local Health Department. If a resident of Woodford County sees a physician or is in the hospital, and is diagnosed with one of those diseases, it must be reported to the Woodford County Health Department. Nursing staff will then follow-up with those individuals.
This investigation process involves the following activities:
taking a history and determining contacts of potential exposure, both for catching the disease and spreading the disease
notifying any contacts of their potential exposure
instruct infected individuals and their contacts of symptoms to watch for, and when they should notify physician
administer antidotes if available
encourage proper medical care, provide information for treatment as needed