Infection Control and Prevention
REPORTABLE ILLNESSES
Click here to learn more about which illnesses healthcare providers are required to report.
EPIDEMIOLOGY ANNUAL REPORT
As of February 7, 2022, all GNR Environmental Health Departments will be requiring a Level 3 soil report for all septic permits (new, repairs, and additions requiring modification to the existing septic system) prior to permitting.
Infection Control
Germs are found in our air, soil, water and bodies. Some germs live in and on our bodies without causing harm; others help us stay healthy. Some germs however, are harmful, and can cause infections and illness once they enter our body.
Our infection control and prevention efforts help prevent the spread of illnesses by providing community education and by working closely with healthcare providers, labs, and community partners to identify and respond to illness outbreaks.
Keep reading to learn how you can help prevent the spread of illness in our community.
Simple Measures Make All the Difference
- Use proper respiratory hygiene, including covering coughs and sneezes. CDC Cover Your Cough posters are available in multiple languages.
- Hand washing is one of the best ways to stay healthy. Hand Hygiene is part of overall health. Tips, info and printable resources can be found at CDC’s Clean Hands site.
- Stay home to avoid spreading common illness’.
- Stay up-to-date on all recommended vaccines
Stay home when sick to avoid spreading common illnesses
Staying home and away from other people when you are sick is one of the most important things you can do to stop the spread of common illnesses such as flu and colds, gastrointestinal illnesses (diarrhea), pink eye (conjunctivitis) and strep. Find out when you or your child are “Too Sick” to go to work, attend school or childcare or participate in other activities.
Stay up to date on vaccines to prevent the spread of vaccine preventable illnesses
Some vaccine-preventable illnesses require hospitalization, or can be deadly. Vaccination is one of the best ways adults can protect themselves, and parents can protect infants, children, and teens from harmful diseases that can be very serious.
Disease questions /
report an illness?
770-339-4260
Please contact our Epidemiology Department by calling and asking to speak with the “Epi on Call.”
INfection Control & Prevention Tips
Avoid getting sick by implementing some simple practices into your life such as handwashing and proper food storage and preparation. Click on a topic to learn more.
Norovirus is known as the stomach bug or stomach flu. Learn what to do so it doesn’t get you.
Intro
Norovirus, aka Stomach Bug or Stomach Flu, is a hardy virus that is resistant to most household cleaners
Symptoms
Symptoms of norovirus include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps, beginning 24-48 hours after being infected and usually lasting for 1-3 days.
How long are people contagious?
People infected with norovirus can be contagious for weeks after recovery.
Tips to avoid infection
Avoid becoming infected by practicing infection control including:
- Frequent hand washing with soap and water (alcohol-based sanitizers are not effective against norovirus!)
- Disinfection of contaminated surfaces using EPA certified disinfectants known to kill norovirus. It’s a bug that is a bugger to kill!
- Bleach solution that kills norovirus
- Wearing gloves and a mask when cleaning up vomit or feces.
LEARN MORE
Prevent the spread of respiratory Illnesses such as the common cold, flu, RSV or COVID-19.
Intro
Respiratory illnesses like RSV, flu and COVID-19 spread easily. Droplets from coughing or sneezing can end up on surfaces or in the air and infect others.
Symptoms
Symptoms of respiratory virus symptoms include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat and more.
How long are people contagious?
People with some respiratory viruses can be contagious for a few days before their symptoms begin until about a week after symptoms begin. Some respiratory viruses can be spread even if there are no symptoms. The window for contagiousness varies, depending on the illness.
Tips to avoid infection
- Stay up-to-date on flu vaccines and discuss other vaccines for seasonal respiratory viruses with your healthcare provider.
- Wash hands regularly with soap and water and use hand sanitizers often.
- Improve airflow. Open windows and use indoor air purifiers.
- Avoid interacting with those who are sick with contagious respiratory illnesses.
- Consider wearing a mask.
LEARN MORE
Avoid foodborne illness. Prepare and store food properly.
Intro
Food-borne illness occurs when someone eats food contaminated with a virus, bacteria, or a parasite. An estimated 48 million people get sick from food-borne illnesses in the United States every year.
Symptoms
Food-borne illness can cause a number of symptoms including bloody or watery diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, fever, headache, joint or back aches, and fatigue.
How long are people contagious?
Depending on the disease, food-borne illness could be spread from person to person. The amount of time someone is contagious varies, but often ranges from a couple of days prior to symptom onset, until the illness is over.
Tips to avoid infection
- Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often.
- Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate.
- Cook: Cook foods to proper temperatures.
- Chill: Refrigerate promptly
LEARN MORE
Rabies: What you need to know and what to do if you get bitten by an unknown animal
Intro
Rabies is a fatal viral infection transmitted through the saliva of infected mammals such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, bats, cats, and dogs. Animal bites are reported to the health department and investigated to determine the risk of rabies transmission. Rabies vaccine is sometimes recommended to protect against infection after a bite.
Symptoms
Rabies is a severe, acute disease that infects the brain and typically leads to death within weeks of the start of symptoms. It can cause anxiety, insomnia, confusion, agitation, hallucinations, drooling, seizures, and more.
What to do if I get bitten or scratched by an animal?
- Wash any wounds immediately with soap and water, then seek medical treatment.
- Contact your local animal control agency.
- Contact the health department to report the incident and discuss need for rabies vaccine.
- Follow guidance provided by the health department and animal control.
Keep bugs at bay! Learn how you can avoid illnesses caused by mosquitos and tick bites.
Intro
Mosquitoes and ticks can spread germs through bites, causing people and animals to be sick. There are steps everyone can take to try and prevent infections caused by these bites.
Symptoms
Mosquitoes and ticks can carry diseases that cause fever, headache, body aches, joint pain, fatigue, rash, and nausea in people who are bitten. You should monitor yourself for these symptoms more often during warm seasons and especially after traveling outside of the United States in the last 90 days.
Tips to avoid infection
- Wear EPA registered mosquito and tick repellent.
- Dump or treat standing water with EPA registered water treatments.
- Avoid tall grass and shrubs.
- Wear light-weight, loose-fitting long sleeves and pants when in areas commonly with mosquitoes and ticks.
Learn how to Dispose of Household Sharps properly.
Intro
Household sharps are syringes, needles, pens, razor blades, contaminated broken glass, needles, or lancets used for self-care or care of family members or pets in a residential setting.
Tips
Sharps should never be placed in the trash can, but should be disposed of in a hard plastic container such as a sharps/ biohazard container, or a hard plastic container with a screw-on lid such as a laundry detergent bottle.
LEARN MORE
School and Childcare Infection Control Resources
Schools can help prevent infections caused by common childhood respiratory or stomach viruses by using and encouraging everyday actions.
