La. Admin. Code tit. 51 § II-115

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section II-115 - Investigations [formerly paragraph 2:009]

A. The state health officer may immediately upon receiving notification of any communicable disease or reportable condition, investigate as the circumstances may require for the purpose of verification of the diagnosis, to ascertain the source of the causative agent, to disclose unreported cases and to reveal susceptible contacts if such information is required to prevent a serious health threat to the community. The decision of the state health officer as to the diagnosis shall be final, for administrative purposes.

B. [formerly paragraph 2:010] The state health officer is hereby empowered and it is made his or her duty whenever a case of communicable disease occurs, to obtain laboratory specimens of body tissues, fluids or discharges and of materials directly or indirectly associated with the case as may be necessary or desirable in confirmation of the diagnosis or for ascertaining the source of the infection, recency of onset, strain of organism, and/or medication resistance, when acceptable laboratory and medical reports are not available. Whenever laboratory tests are required for the release of cases or carriers or suspected cases or carriers, the state health officer shall be satisfied that a sufficient number of specimens are examined, that the specimens are authentic and are examined in an acceptable laboratory.

C. [formerly paragraph 2:013] No person shall interfere with or prevent the entrance to or examination of any house, building, trailer, camp, train, airplane, bus, steamship, or other water craft, or any abode, by the state health officer where a case of communicable disease is either suspected or reported to exist.

D. [formerly paragraph 2:009-1] The state health officer shall make a good faith effort to notify individuals who are spouses and/or sexual contacts to persons with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection of their exposure, offer them counseling about their risk of infection, and offer them testing for HIV infection. In performing this activity, the state health officer or his/her designee shall initially contact the primary medical provider of the person who has HIV infection, if such medical provider can be identified, and ask if the infected person or the medical provider intends to conduct this notification. If neither the infected person nor the medical provider intends to notify spouses or sexual partners of the exposure, the state health officer or his/her designee shall attempt to interview the infected person directly to identify these partners for counseling and testing. Notification of partners shall be conducted in such a manner as to maintain the confidentiality of the infected person.

La. Admin. Code tit. 51, § II-115

Promulgated by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of Public Health, LR 28:1214 (June 2002), amended LR 32:1052 (June 2006), LR 36:1016 (May 2010).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 40:4(A)(2) and R.S. 40:5(10).