Disease Reporting

Wisconsin has communicable disease reporting requirements, P-02566, that support public health’s responsibilities to control the incidence and spread of communicable diseases in our state.

The diseases and conditions listed on this page are considered to have significant public health impact, and any confirmed or suspected cases must be reported promptly.

Health Alert Network (HAN)

The HAN enables public health staff, tribal governments, health care providers, emergency workers, and others to exchange reliable information as outbreaks evolve.

Access the HAN webpage to read messages that have gone out in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other emerging health issues.

Requirements for the timing of reporting, once the disease or condition is recognized or suspected, vary by disease. In addition to the information listed below, general reporting requirements are described in Wis. Stat. ch. 252 Communicable Diseases. The specific reporting requirements are described in Wis. Admin Code. ch. DHS 145 Control of Communicable Diseases. A list of reportable conditions is provided in Wis. Admin Code. ch. DHS 145 - Appendix A.

Questions concerning this information may be directed to: Bureau of Communicable Diseases, 608-267-9003, or the Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health, 608-266-1120.

Case reporting methods and contact information

Category I diseases must be reported IMMEDIATELY by telephone (preferred) to the patient's local health officer, or their designee. Category II diseases must be reported within 72 hours either electronically through the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System (WEDSS), by mail or fax using an Acute and Communicable Disease Case Report, F-44151 or STD Case Report Form, F-44243, or by other means. HIV/AIDS should be reported directly to the Wisconsin HIV Program.

Communicable diseases and other notifiable conditions

Category I

The following diseases are of urgent public health importance and shall be reported IMMEDIATELY by telephone to the patient's local health officer, or to the local health officer's designee, upon identification of a case or suspected case. In addition to the immediate report, within 24 hours, complete and fax, mail, or submit a case report electronically through the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System (WEDSS), or by other means. Public health intervention is expected as indicated. See Wis. Admin Code. § DHS 145.04(3)(a) and Wis. Stat. § 252.05.

Category I Diseases
Category I Disease Notes
Anthrax 1, 4, 5
Botulism (Clostridium Botulinum) including foodborne, infant, wound, and other 1, 2, 4, 5
Carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CP-CRE) As of April 25, 2022, this is a Category II disease 1,2
Cholera (Vibrio cholera) 1, 3, 4
COVID-19 1, 2, 6, 7
Diphtheria (Corynebacterium diphtheria) 1, 3, 4, 5
Haemophilus influenzae invasive disease including epiglottitis 1, 2, 3, 5
Hantavirus infection 1, 2, 4
Hepatitis A 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Measles (rubeola) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Meningococcal disease (Neisseria meningitidis) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome-associated Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) 2, 3, 4
Mpox (Monkeypox) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Pertussis whooping cough caused by any Bordetella infection 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Plague (Yersinia pestis) 1, 4, 5
Polio virus infection paralytic or nonparalytic 1, 4, 5
Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) Naegleria fowleri 2, 4, 5, 6
Rabies human and animal 1, 4, 5
Ricin toxin 4, 5
Rubella 1, 2, 4, 5
Rubella congenital syndrome 1, 2, 5
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-associated Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) 1, 2, 3, 4
Smallpox 4, 5
Tuberculosis 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) and
Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) infection		 1, 4, 5
Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF) including Crimean-Congo, Ebola, Lassa Lujo, and Marburg viruses, and New World Arenaviruses 1, 2, 3, 4
Yellow fever 1, 4
Outbreaks, confirmed or suspected:
   Foodborne or waterborne outbreaks
   Occupationally-related diseases
   Other acute illnesses
1, 3, 4, 6
6
3, 4, 6
Any detection of, or illness caused by, an agent that is foreign, exotic or unusual to Wisconsin, and that has public health implications 4
Notes key:
  1. Infectious disease or other condition designated as notifiable at the national level.
  2. Required Wisconsin or CDC follow-up form completed by public health agency.
  3. High-risk assessment by local health department is needed to determine if patient or member of patient's household is employed in food handling, daycare or health care.
  4. Source investigation by local or state health department is needed.
  5. Immediate treatment is recommended, i.e., antibiotic or biologic for the patient or contact or both.
  6. Coordination between local and state health departments is recommended for follow-up.
  7. Disease declared reportable by State Epidemiologist memo.

Category II

The following diseases shall be reported to the patient's local health officer, or the local health officer's designee, either electronically through the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System (WEDSS), by mail or fax using an Acute and Communicable Disease Case Report, F-44151, or by other means within 72 hours upon recognition of a case or suspected case. Public health intervention is expected as indicated. See Wis. Admin Code. § DHS 145.04(3)(b) and Wis. Stat. § 252.05.

The sexually transmitted diseases shall be reported to the local health officer within 72 hours on a Sexually Transmitted Diseases Laboratory and Morbidity Epidemiologic Case Report, F-44243 (Word fillable) or by entering the data into the WEDSS or by other means within 72 hours of the identification of a case or suspected case. Public health intervention is expected as indicated. See Wis. Admin Code § DHS 145.15 and Wis. Stat. § 252.11(7)(b).

Category II Diseases
Category II Disease Notes
Anaplasmosis 1, 2, 5
Arboviral disease including, but not limited to, disease caused by California serogroup, Chikungunya, Dengue, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Powassan, St. Louis Encephalitis, West Nile, Western Equine Encephalitis, and Zika viruses 1, 2, 4
Babesiosis 1 ,2, 4, 5
Blastomycosis 2
Borreliosis other than Lyme disease which is reportable as a distinct disease 2, 4, 6
Brucellosis 1, 2, 4
Campylobacteriosis (Campylobacter infection) 1, 2, 3, 4

Candida auris clinical illness, colonization

 1, 2, 6, 7
Carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CP-CRAB) 2, 6, 7
Carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CP-CRPA) 2, 6, 7 
Carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CP-CRE) As of April 25, 2022, this is a Category II disease 1, 2, 6
Chancroid (Haemophilus ducreyi) 1, 2
Chlamydia trachomatis infection 1, 2, 4, 5
Coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever) 1, 2, 4
Cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidium infection) 1, 2, 3, 4
Cyclosporiasis (Cyclospora infection) 1, 2
Ehrlichiosis 1, 2, 5
Environmental and occupational lung diseases:
   Asbestosis
   Silicosis
   Chemical pneumonitis
   Occupational lung diseases caused by bio-dusts and bio-aerosols
6
1, 6
6
6
E. coli infection caused by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) 1, 2, 3, 4
E. coli infection caused by enteropathogenic (EPEC), enteroinvasive (EIEC), or enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) 2, 3, 4
Free-living amebae infection including Acanthamoeba disease (including keratitis) and Balamuthia mandrillaris disease 2, 4
Giardiasis 1, 2, 3, 4
Gonorrhea (Neisseria gonorrhoeae) 1, 2, 4, 5
Hemolytic uremic syndrome 1, 2, 3, 4
Hepatitis B 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Hepatitis C 1, 2
Hepatitis D 2, 3, 4
Hepatitis E  
Histoplasmosis 2
Influenza-associated hospitalization 2
Influenza-associated pediatric death 1, 2, 4
Influenza A virus infection, novel subtypes 1, 2
Kawasaki disease 2
Latent Tuberculosis infection (LTBI) 2, 5
Legionellosis 1, 2, 4, 5
Leprosy (Hansen's disease) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Leptospirosis 1, 2, 4
Listeriosis 1, 2, 4
Lyme disease 1, 2
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection 4
Malaria (Plasmodium infection) 1, 2, 4, 5
Meningitis, bacterial (other than Haemophilus influenzae, meningococcal or streptococcal, which are reportable as distinct diseases) 2
Mumps 1, 2, 4, 5
Mycobacterial disease (nontuberculous)  
Pelvic inflammatory disease 2
Psittacosis 1, 2, 4
Q Fever (Coxiella burnetii) 1, 2
Rheumatic fever newly diagnosed and meeting the Jones criteria 5
Rickettsiosis other than spotted fever rickettsiosis, which is reportable as a distinct disease 2, 4, 6
Salmonellosis 1, 2, 3, 4
Shigellosis (Shigella infection) 1, 2, 3, 4
Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis including Rocky Mountain spotted fever 1, 2, 4, 5
Streptococcal disease
All invasive disease caused by Groups A and B Streptococci		  
Streptococcus pneumoniae invasive disease invasive pneumococcal 1
Syphilis (Treponema pallidum) 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
Tetanus 1, 2, 5
Toxic shock syndrome 1, 2
Toxic substance related diseases:
  Blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria) and Cyanotoxin poisoning
  Carbon monoxide poisoning
  Infant methemoglobinemia
   Lead (Pb) poisoning in children and adults
   Metal poisonings other than lead (Pb)
   Pesticide poisonings		 2, 4, 6
1, 6
6
1, 6
6
1, 6
Toxoplasmosis  
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), human TSE)  
Trichinosis 1, 2, 4
Tularemia (Francisella tularensis) 1, 2, 4, 5

Typhoid fever (Salmonella Typhi)

 1, 2, 3, 4
Varicella (chickenpox) 1, 3, 5

Vibriosis (non-cholera Vibrio infection)

 1, 2, 3, 4
Yersiniosis 2, 3, 4
Zika virus infection 1, 2
Notes key:
  1. Infectious disease or other condition designated as notifiable at the national level.
  2. Required Wisconsin or CDC follow-up form completed by public health agency.
  3. High-risk assessment by local health department is needed to determine if patient or member of patient's household is employed in food handling, daycare or health care.
  4. Source investigation by local or state health department is needed.
  5. Immediate treatment is recommended, i.e., antibiotic or biologic for the patient or contact or both.
  6. Coordination between local and state health departments is recommended for follow-up.
  7. Disease declared reportable by State Epidemiologist memo.

* Effective November 29, 2010, influenza-associated hospitalizations are reportable in Wisconsin within 72 hours of identification to local public health agencies.

Category III

The following disease shall be reported to the state epidemiologist on a Wisconsin HIV Infection and AIDS Case Report Form, F-44338 or by other means within 72 hours after identification of a known or suspected case. Additionally, the following laboratory results shall be reported on all persons newly or previously diagnosed with HIV infection each time the test is conducted: all CD4+ test results (CD4+ T-lymphocyte counts and percentages), both detectable and undetectable HIV viral load results, HIV genotypic results and all components of the HIV laboratory diagnostic testing algorithm when the initial screening test is reactive. See Wis. Stat. § 252.15(7)(b) and Wis. Admin. Code § DHS 145.04(3)(b)

Case reporting methods and contact information

  • Send the case report form in an envelope marked "Confidential" to:
       Scott Stokes
       Wisconsin Bureau of Communicable Diseases
       1 W. Wilson St., Room 265
       Madison, WI 53703

  • To obtain case reporting forms, contact the HIV Program, DHSHIVsurveillance@dhs.wisconsin.gov 

Category III Disease
Category III HIV/AIDS Notes
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection AIDS has been reclassified as HIV Stage III 1, 2, 4
Notes key:
  1. Infectious disease or other condition designated as notifiable at the national level.
  2. Required Wisconsin or CDC follow-up form completed by public health agency.
  3. High-risk assessment by local health department is needed to determine if patient or member of patient's household is employed in food handling, daycare or health care.
  4. Source investigation by local or state health department is needed.
  5. Immediate treatment is recommended, i.e., antibiotic or biologic for the patient or contact or both.
  6. Coordination between local and state health departments is recommended for follow-up.

Case reporting methods and contact information

Listing of Wisconsin Local Health Officers

Register to report electronically through WEDSS
(Note: 75% of disease reports are now received through WEDSS)

Case Reporting and Investigation Protocols (EpiNet) can be found by clicking on the name of each individual disease.

Bureau of Communicable Diseases
Phone: 608-267-9003

Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health
Phone: 608-266-1120

Secure Fax Numbers:

HIV Program
608-266-1288

BEOH
608-267-4853

Epidemiology Program
608-261-4976

Immunization Program
608-267-9493

STD Program
608-261-9301

TB Program
608-266-0049

Copies may be mailed to:

Wisconsin State Epidemiologist (Communicable Diseases)
Bureau of Communicable Diseases
Specify Disease or Program
1 West Wilson St., Room 272
Madison, WI 53703

or

Wisconsin State Epidemiologist (Environmental and Occupational Health)
BEOH
1 West Wilson St., Room 150
Madison, WI 53703

​​Frequently used paper report forms:
Acute and Communicable Disease Case Report form, F-44151
STD: F-44243
HIV: F-44338
LTBI: F-02265

Additional resources

Reportable Communicable Disease Conditions in Wisconsin: P-03305

 

Paper forms and ordering instructions
Last Revised: December 1, 2022