PA Department of Health Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases (proposed regulations)

The Department of Health (Department) proposes to amend regulations on communicable and noncommunicable diseases. Comprehensive amendments to the regulations are needed to expand the list of reportable diseases, infections and conditions, to address changing standards and recommendations from experts, such as the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and to ensure the overall public health and safety by reducing the risk and spread of diseases, infections and conditions. The proposed regulations, among other things, would:

• amend the current definition of AIDS, medical record, infectious agent;
• add a definition for emerging disease or condition and HIV;
• require health care practitioners and health care facilities to report an additional 73 diseases, infections and conditions to the department;
• require reporting of influenza that is confirmed by positive antigen or nucleic acid laboratory test, or point-of-care rapid test;
• provide new chart format to make it easier for health care practitioners and health care facilities to locate specific reporting requirements by searching within the chart alphabetically to determine whether a disease, infection or condition needs to be reported, and on the same line, determine when and how to report the disease, infection or condition; and
• require that cases of ''botulism, excluding infant botulism,'' be reported immediately by telephone and within 24 hours to the department's electronic disease surveillance system, and to require that cases of infant botulism be reported within 24 hours to the department's electronic disease surveillance system.
  

Public Comment

Interested persons are invited to submit comments, suggestions or objections to the proposed regulations within 45 days after publication of this notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The department prefers that comments, suggestions or objections be submitted by email to RA-DHCHAPTR27PROPREG@pa.gov.

For more information, please review the August 8, 2026, edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin.