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Our surveillance department has access to a website which posts the food-borne, water-borne, and communicable diseases that affect people in our 4 counties. From this we initiate an investigation when appropriate. We aim to decrease the spread of disease and intervene when necessary. We monitor the activity of seasonal outbreaks, such as influenza. We maintain daily access to EPI X, a web site that posts current epidemiology issues thorough out the world. We maintain contact with all schools in our four counties, and monitor absenteeism. This allows us to pick up if and when there is an outbreak of a specific virus or infection. We provide handouts and information upon request to schools, organizations, and individuals pertaining to disease and environmental issues.

A unique roll of public health is the communicable illness and disease containment duties. Prior to the formation of the public health departments, such illnesses were not investigated, thus increasing the risk of spread and wide-spread illness. Taking reports on communicable illnesses and acting accordingly has positively impacted the health in our communities. Each report is taken seriously and is acted upon promptly to ensure public safety and containment of the illness.

The State of Nebraska has mandatory reporting laws that require medical practitioners and laboratories to report communicable illnesses within a specified period of time. Each reported illness comes with its own case by case risks—including incubation period, mode of transmission (is the disease spread through food, water, airborne, etc.), treatment options, the risk of further transmission.

Each illness case requires a phone call to the healthcare provider and a telephone interview with the patient. Interview questions range from food history, travel history, job/career status, drinking water exposure and health history to exposure to animals, recreational water exposure, daycare status, etc. In some situations, it is recommended that the ill person formulate a list of recent contact persons (those that they have been around) as these people have the option to be treated with a dose of medication that works to keep them from developing the illness.

In instances where prophylaxis is needed, those contact people are located, tracked and informed of the exposure, and arrangements are made for those people to be treated. Depending upon the nature or threat of the illness, medical offices are notified, handouts are sent home if the illness involves a daycare or school attendee, and press releases are created and published.

Public health and safety is of utmost importance. Any of the illnesses that we deal with could be a fatal illness if contracted by the right person. We want our populations to be healthy, and we try to make that happen by attempting to keep illness and disease at bay.