Disease reporting is a crucial step in protecting our communities from the spread of infectious diseases and is mandated by law. All New Jersey physicians and other health care providers are required to report cases of specific reportable diseases to their local health department.

Reporting is easy!

Please reach out to us, at the Somerset County Department of Health, if the patient resides in Bedminster, Bound Brook, Far Hills, Franklin, Manville, North Plainfield, Raritan, Somerville or South Bound Brook.

• Phone: 908-231-7155
• Email: diseaseprevention@co.somerset.nj.us
• After hours/Holidays/Weekends: 908-526-2500

If a patient resides in a different municipality, find their local health department: http://www.nj.gov/health/lh/documents/LocalHealthDirectory.pdf

What Should be Reported?

There are two categories of disease reporting:

1. Immediately by telephone upon identification by a laboratory or by diagnosis of a health care provider.
2. Within 24 hours of identification by a laboratory or by diagnosis of a health care provider.

The New Jersey Administrative Code provides all the rules and regulations for reportable diseases in the state. A list of reportable diseases is located on the NJDOH Communicable Disease Service disease reporting webpage. 

Healthcare Providers

Healthcare providers may use the link below to get access to the disease case report forms.

• https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/forms.shtml

Guidelines for Outbreak Investigations in Schools

New Jersey Administrative Code mandate that each school district/childcare center shall immediately report any communicable diseases that are identified as reportable pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:57‐1, whether confirmed or presumed, by telephone to the health officer of the jurisdiction in which the school is located. These regulations pertain to youth camps, childcare centers, preschools, schools and institutions of higher education. Throughout the rest of this document, we will refer to these generally as “schools.” This document has been prepared to guide in both identification and response to outbreaks occurring in the school setting.

• Guidelines_Outbreaks_School.pdf (nj.gov)

School Audits

School and childcare audits are required annually to ensure compliance with N.J.A.C 8:57 New Jersey State Sanitary Code, Immunization of Pupils in Schools. Conducting annual audits is considered a best practice to capture accurate, current and pertinent data for assessing immunization status of a community and vulnerability during potential outbreaks.

Per the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH): Every school, preschool, or childcare shall maintain an official State of New Jersey immunization record for every pupil.

Official Documents include:

1. IMM-8: NJ Department of Health; Standard School/Childcare Immunization Record (Yellow Card)
2. A-45: NJ Department of Education; State Health History/Record and Appraisal Form
3. New Jersey Immunization Information System (NJIIS) Official Immunization Record

NJDOH Immunization Audit Documents

• NJDoH Vaccine Preventable Disease Program Responsibilities Snapshot
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)