Epidemiology Program

The primary function of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Department is to protect and promote the health of Charlotte County residents and visitors. This is accomplished through the operation of public health surveillance, field investigations, and epidemiologic studies. Information from these activities is provided in a timely fashion to partners within the Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County (DOH-Charlotte), other agencies, and the public. This information is used to identify residents and visitors at increased health risk, to assess causality, and to recommend preventive measures to decrease the burden of disease and injury.

The staff members are engaged in a wide array of activities, including but not limited to:

• Surveillance and reporting of communicable diseases and conditions
• Field investigation of case and outbreak situations
• Hepatitis A, B, and C testing, counseling, and education
• Lead poisoning prevention services, such as screening, surveillance, case management, and home environmental inspection
• Animal Bites reports and investigation

Additional information for health care providers and laboratories can be found at FloridaHealth.gov.

A list of all reportable diseases and conditions can be found at: List of Reportable Diseases/Conditions for Health Care Practitioners 

Outbreak Investigation

Infectious diseases may be spread from person-to-person. When this happens, outbreaks can occur. The Epidemiology program investigates outbreaks in various settings including schools, daycares, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, correctional institutions, and other community settings. Through the investigative process, we collect data to identify affected individuals, the source of infection, modes of disease transmission, and risk factors related to the outbreak. The data is then used to control and prevent further spread of illness.

One of the functions of the epidemiology office is to provide support to community partners. This includes consultation and support services during outbreaks of communicable diseases. DOH-Charlotte would like to remind long-term care facilities that we are available to assist you if your facility experiences an outbreak.