Long-term care facilities (LTCFs), acute care hospitals, schools, jails, camps, colleges and universities, and other congregate settings, should report outbreaks of respiratory diseases within 24 hours. Reporting of outbreaks is mandated under PA state regulations. Reports should be made to the appropriate local public health jurisdiction, or to the PA Department of Health (PA DOH) by calling 877-PA HEALTH.
Note that some settings, such as health care facilities, may have additional reporting requirements to other agencies that must also be followed.
Special Instructions for Certain Settings
To help protect students and staff, schools are asked to report significant acute respiratory illness (ARI) outbreaks. Reporting helps the PA Department of Health (PA DOH) understand illness trends, provide guidance, and support schools in responding to outbreaks.
1. Determine who you report to:
- If your school or childcare setting is located within a county or municipal health departments (CMHDs), you should report outbreaks directly to your local health department: Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Erie, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Allentown, Bethlehem, Wilkes-Barre, and York City.
- Each CMHD may have its own definition of an ARI outbreak, its own reporting threshold, and its own reporting method.
- Do not submit reports to the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) or use the PA DOH online reporting survey unless directed to do so by your local health department.
- If your school or childcare setting is NOT located in one of the CMHDs listed above: You should report respiratory illness outbreaks to the PA DOH using the online survey.
2. What to report (for schools and childcare settings reporting to PA DOH)
Schools and childcare settings should report when 10% or more of their student population are absent from school on a given day due to:
- ·respiratory illness symptoms, and/or
- a respiratory illness diagnosis.
Schools and childcare settings should report within 24 hours.
Respiratory symptoms include: coughing, fever or chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, body aches, headache, sore throat, and runny nose or congestion
If cause of absence is not known, use your best judgement to determine if these absences may be due to ARI. Lab or parent confirmation is not required.
3. Why reporting matters
PA DOH has received very few reports from schools in recent years, which likely underrepresent the real burden of illness.
In recent years, Pennsylvania has experienced record levels of influenza, RSV, other respiratory viruses, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, all of which disproportionately affect children. These illnesses can cause significant absenteeism, disrupt learning, and create challenges for families and staff.
Your observations and reports help identify outbreaks early, protect students, and reduce disruptions to learning and school operations.
4. Prevention Guidance
For guidance on preventing illness and outbreaks, visit Schools | Department of Health | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Guidance on identifying and responding to outbreaks of influenza or other respiratory viruses (RSV, COVID-19, etc.) can be found at LTCF | Department of Health | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
LTCFs should report outbreaks by calling the facility’s local public health jurisdiction within 24 hours.