Communicable and infectious disease staff performs surveillance for reportable diseases, such as:
Additionally, this group addresses issues related to the reporting of communicable diseases by health care providers and laboratories to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. While individual cases of disease are monitored, the surveillance tools used for communicable diseases also allow for surveillance of disease outbreaks in Nebraska. Learn More
Immunizations can protect against many of the communicable diseases included on the list of reportable diseases in Nebraska. For more information on immunizations, please visit the following websites:
What is a foodborne illness?
Foodborne illness is a preventable public health problem that causes an estimated 48 million illnesses and 3,000 deaths each year in the United States. Such illnesses are caused from eating contaminated food. The onset of symptoms may occur within minutes to weeks and often vary depending on the causative agent but can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or fever. Because the symptoms are often nonspecific, many people may not recognize that the illness is caused by harmful bacteria or other pathogens in food.
For more information about foodborne illness:
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Occupational Safety and Health
Occupational safety and health is the identification, control, and prevention of risks stemming from workplace hazards. The Nebraska Occupational Safety and Health Surveillance Program (NOSHP) collects and analyzes data related to worker injuries and illnesses. By performing surveillance and calculating indicators for occupational health, NOSHP can compare the health and risk status of Nebraska’s workforce and use the data to help make workplaces across Nebraska safer.
Vector Surveillance and Control
The practice of vector surveillance and control involves detecting vector-borne disease pathogens and preventing their transmission to humans and other hosts. Some of the more common vector-borne illnesses in Nebraska include: West Nile Virus, Tularemia, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Learn More For more information on the Office of Epidemiology efforts related to the vector-borne disease surveillance effort in Nebraska related to West Nile Virus.
The CDC National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases has additional information
and resources regarding these conditions:
Additionally, Nebraska has a Public Health Veterinarian. Veterinary public health includes aspects of public health that can be protected or improved by veterinary medicine. In general, the topics included in veterinary public health are: food production and safety, zoonosis control, environmental contamination, and the role of animals in society.
For veterinary public health issues in Nebraska see the following website:
For questions and concerns related to veterinary public health, please contact
Bryan Buss, 402-471-8820
Chronic Disease and Maternal Child Health
The Office of Epidemiology works with Health Promotion Unit and Maternal Child Health Epidemiology group regarding chronic diseases and maternal child health issues.
For additional information please see the following websites:
Although the Office of Epidemiology is not in the same program (Public Health Support Unit) as the Environmental Health group, which has its own unit, the two work closely together on a number of projects, such as lead poisoning, swimming pool regulations, and asbestos-related health outcomes.
For more information on the Environmental Health Unit, please visit the website below.