• Local Health Jurisdictions

• Notifiable Conditions Reporting Numbers

• Reporting Forms and Guidelines

• Disease Surveillance Data

• Glossary

• Legal Requirements

• EpiTrends

• Notifiable Conditions & the Health Care ProviderPDF, 97KB)

• Notifiable Conditions & the Health Care Facility(PDF, 104KB)

• Notifiable Conditions & the Laboratory (PDF, 55KB)

• Notifiable Conditions & the Local Health Jurisdiction  (PDF, 44KB)

• Notifiable Conditions & the Veterinarian(PDF, 60KB)

• Communicable Disease Epidemiology

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Cause: Prions, or “proteinaceous infectious particles” in which normal cellular prion proteins in the brain fold into abnormal, pathologic forms, causing a fatal neurodegenerative disease.

Illness and treatment: About 85% of CJD cases are sporadic (sCJD) while 15% are inherited. Sporadic CJD is characterized by rapidly progressing dementia, poor balance, visual changes and/or muscle jerks. Treatment is supportive.

Sources: The cause of sporadic CJD is not known. In 1996, a new variant of CJD (vCJD) recognized in the United Kingdom was associated with cattle infected with a related infection (“mad cow disease”). To date, no cases of vCJD have been acquired in the United States.

Prevention: There are no specific precautions.

Recent Washington trends: During 2000 to 2009, 4 to 17 cases were reported each year.

2010: Eight cases were reported. The median age was 67.5 years old (range 57–84 years). Six cases were confirmed through examination of brain tissue; 5 were sporadic CJD and one was familial CJD.

Purpose of Reporting and Surveillance

• To monitor trends in the epidemiology of human prion diseases in Washington State.
• To maximize laboratory confirmation of suspected cases and facilitate testing
• To promote awareness of available resources.
• To detect the emergence of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or novel prion diseases in the United States.
• To prevent potential iatrogenic transmission.

Legal Reporting Requirements

• Health care providers: notifiable to local health jurisdiction within 3 business days.
• Health care facilities: notifiable to local health jurisdiction within 3 business days.
• Laboratories: no requirements for reporting.
• Local health jurisdictions: notifiable to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Communicable Disease Epidemiology (CDE) within 7 days of case investigation completion or summary information required within 21 days.

Last update
December 2011