(a) Humans.
  (1) The following notifiable conditions are public health emergencies and suspect cases shall be reported immediately by phone to the local health authority or the appropriate Department of State Health Services regional epidemiology office: anthrax; botulism; diphtheria; measles (rubeola); meningococcal infection, invasive; novel coronavirus; novel influenza; poliomyelitis, acute paralytic; plague; rabies; smallpox; tularemia; vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA); vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA); viral hemorrhagic fever; yellow fever; and any outbreak, exotic disease, or unusual group expression of disease that may be of public health concern.
  (2) The following notifiable conditions shall be reported by fax or phone within one working day of identification as a suspected case: brucellosis; Candida auris; carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE); hepatitis A, acute; hepatitis B, perinatal infection; influenza-associated pediatric mortality; mumps; pertussis; poliovirus infection, non-paralytic; Q fever; rubella (including congenital); syphilis infection in pregnant females; tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex); and Vibrio infection (including cholera).
  (3) AIDS, chancroid, Chlamydia trachomatis infection, gonorrhea, HIV infection, and syphilis shall be reported in accordance with Subchapter F of this chapter (relating to Sexually Transmitted Diseases Including Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)).
  (4) Tuberculosis antibiotic susceptibility results should be reported by laboratories no later than one week after they first become available.
  (5) For all other notifiable conditions not listed in paragraphs (1) - (4) of this subsection, reports of disease shall be made no later than one week after a case or suspected case is identified.
    (A) Transmittal may be by telephone, fax, mail, courier, or electronic transmission.
      (i) If by mail or courier, the reports shall be on a form provided by the department and placed in a sealed envelope addressed to the attention of the appropriate receiving source and marked "Confidential."
      (ii) Any electronic transmission of the reports must provide at least the same degree of protection against unauthorized disclosure as those of mail or courier transmittal, be by express written agreement with the receiving agency, utilize a format prescribed by the receiving agency, and be validated as accurate.
    (B) A health information exchange (HIE) organization as defined by Texas Health and Safety Code, §182.151, may transmit reports on behalf of providers required to report in §97.2(a) - (d) of this title (relating to Who Shall Report) in accordance with Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 182, Subchapter D. Health Information Exchanges, and all other state and federal law as follows:
      (i) The receiving agency has published message standards.
      (ii) A method of secure transmission has been established between the HIE and the receiving agency and transmissions have been tested with the receiving agency and established as meeting the data exchange standards and conveying information accurately.
      (iii) Reporting by the HIE has been requested and authorized by the appropriate health care provider, practitioner, physician, facility, clinical laboratory, or other person who is required to report health-related information.
      (iv) HIE reports may be made in addition to but shall not replace reports listed in paragraphs (1) - (2) of this subsection.
  (6) All diseases requiring submission of cultures in §97.3(a)(4) of this title (relating to What Condition to Report and What Isolates to Report or Submit) shall be submitted as they become available.
(b) Animals. Reportable conditions affecting animals shall be reported within one working day following the diagnosis.

Source Note: The provisions of this §97.4 adopted to be effective March 16, 1994, 19 TexReg 1453; amended to be effective July 26, 1996, 21 TexReg 6622; amended to be effective March 5, 1998, 23 TexReg 1954; amended to be effective January 1, 1999, 23 TexReg 12663; amended to be effective December 20, 2000, 25 TexReg 12426; amended to be effective August 5, 2001, 26 TexReg 5658; amended to be effective December 12, 2002, 27 TexReg 11547; amended to be effective June 5, 2007, 32 TexReg 2997; amended to be effective December 20, 2012, 37 TexReg 9777; amended to be effective April 20, 2014, 39 TexReg 2853; amended to be effective April3,2016,41 TexReg 2317; amended to be effective April 2, 2017, 42 TexReg 1452; amended to be effective January 5, 2021, 46 TexReg 162