N.J. Admin. Code § 8:57-1.7

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 8, April 15, 2024

Section 8:57-1.7 - Reporting of positive laboratory results denoting diseases

(a) A clinical laboratory director shall immediately report by telephone the information set forth at (c) below on any positive culture, test or assay result specific for the following organisms to the local health officer of the jurisdiction where the person lives, or if unknown, to the local health officer in whose jurisdiction the health care provider or health care facility requesting the laboratory examination is located:

Arboviruses;

Bacillus anthracis;

Bordetella pertussis;

Brucella spp.;

Clostridium botulinum;

Corynebacterium diphtheriae;

Ebola virus;

Foodborne intoxications, including, but not limited to, ciguatera, paralytic shellfish poisoning, scombroid, or mushroom poisoning;

Francisella tularensis;

Haemophilus influenzae isolated from cerebrospinal fluid, blood, or any other normally sterile body site;

Hantavirus;

Hepatitis A, (IgM tests only);

Influenza virus, novel strains only;

Lassa virus;

Marburg virus;

Neisseria meningitidis isolated from cerebrospinal fluid, blood, or any other normally sterile site;

Polio virus;

Rabies virus;

Rubella virus;

SARS-CoV; and

Yersinia pestis.

1. If the health officer is unavailable, the clinical laboratory director shall make the report to the Department by telephone to 609-588-7500, between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. on non-holiday weekdays or to 609-392-2020 during all other days and hours.

2. In addition to the telephone report, the clinical laboratory director shall report the information set forth at (c) below by electronic reporting, by electronic laboratory reporting or by mail within 72 hours of obtaining the result.

i. The clinical laboratory director may use the Directory of Local Health Departments in New Jersey to locate health officers and local health departments in New Jersey.

3. Effective September 1, 2010, in addition to the telephone report, the clinical laboratory director shall report the information set forth at (c) below through electronic laboratory reporting within 24 hours of obtaining the result.

i. The clinical laboratory director may substitute electronic reporting if electronic laboratory reporting is not available.

ii. The clinical laboratory director may substitute reporting by mail upon approval of the Department for equipment failure or other circumstances, which prevent electronic communications with the Department.

iii. Clinical laboratory directors shall utilize the Electronic Laboratory Reporting Technical Manual available at subchapter Appendix A to establish electronic laboratory reporting.

(b) A clinical laboratory director shall report by electronic laboratory reporting, by electronic reporting, or by mail within 72 hours of obtaining the result the information set forth at (c) below on any positive culture, test, or assay result specific for one of the following organisms to the local health officer of the jurisdiction where the person lives, or if unknown, to the local health officer in whose jurisdiction the health care provider or health care facility requesting the laboratory examination is located, except that the clinical laboratory director shall report positive results for hepatitis C, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases directly to the Department:

Acid fast bacilli;

Antibiotic-resistant organisms (hospital-based laboratories only);

Babesia spp.;

Borrelia burgdorferi;

Campylobacter spp.;

Chlamydia psittaci;

Chlamydia trachomatis;

Clostridium tetani;

Coxiella burnetti;

Cryptosporidium spp.;

Cyclospora spp;

Entamoeba histolytica;

Ehrlichia spp.;

Escherichia coli, shiga toxin producing strains (STEC) only;

Giardia lamblia;

Haemophilus ducreyi;

Hepatitis B;

Hepatitis C;

Influenza, all isolates (only for laboratories reporting electronically, or by electronic laboratory reporting);

Klebsiella granulomatis;

Legionellaspp.;

Listeria monocytogenes;

Mumps virus;

Mycobacterium, atypical;

Mycobacterium leprae;

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, including antibiotic sensitivity tests for M.tuberculosis;

Neisseria gonorrhoeae;

Plasmodium spp.;

Rickettsia rickettsii;

Rubeola virus;

Salmonella spp.;

Shigella spp.;

Staphylococcus aureus, with intermediate- (VISA) or high-level-resistance (VRSA) to vancomycin only;

Streptococcus agalactiae, Group B, neonatal;

Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from cerebrospinal fluid, blood, or any other normally sterile site, and antimicrobial susceptibility test results, if performed;

Streptococcus pyogenes, Group A, isolated from cerebrospinal fluid, blood, or other normally sterile site;

Treponema pallidum;

Trichinella spiralis;

Varicella virus (except IgG tests);

Vibrio spp.; and

Yersinia spp.

1. The clinical laboratory director may use the Directory of Local Health Departments in New Jersey to locate health officers and local health departments in New Jersey.

2. The clinical laboratory director may mail reports to the Department at the following address: Communicable Disease Service, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, PO Box 369, Trenton, NJ 08625-0369.

3. Effective September 1, 2010, the clinical laboratory director shall report the information set forth at (c) below by electronic laboratory reporting within 24 hours of obtaining the result.

i. The clinical laboratory director may substitute electronic reporting if electronic laboratory reporting is not available.

ii. The clinical laboratory director may substitute reporting by mail upon approval of the Department for equipment failure or other circumstances, which prevent electronic communications with the Department.

iii. Clinical laboratory directors shall utilize the Electronic Laboratory Reporting Technical Manual, available at subchapter Appendix A, to establish electronic laboratory reporting.

(c) The report shall contain the reporting laboratory's name, address, and telephone number; the name, age, date of birth, gender, race, ethnicity, home address and telephone number of the person tested; the test performed; the source or type of specimen tested, the date the specimen was collected, and the date of testing; the test results; and the health care provider's name, address, and telephone number.

(d) A clinical laboratory director may delegate reporting and specimen submission requirements, as delineated in (a) and (b) above, and (e) below, to a staff member, but this delegation does not relieve the clinical laboratory director of the ultimate reporting responsibility.

(e) A clinical laboratory director shall submit within three days of identification, to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Division of Public Health and Environmental Laboratories, John Fitch Plaza, Market and Warren Streets, Trenton, NJ 08625-0361, all microbiologic culture isolates obtained from human or food specimens of the following organisms:

Escherichia coli 0157: H7 and enrichment broths containing shiga-toxin producing E. coli;

Haemophilus influenzae isolated from cerebrospinal fluid or blood;

Legionella pneumophila;

Listeria monocytogenes;

Multidrug-resistant organisms upon the request of the Department;

Neisseria meningitidis;

Salmonella spp.;

Shigella spp.; and

Vancomycin-intermediate Staphylcoccus aureus (VISA) and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) from any body site.

(f) A clinical laboratory director shall submit all initial Tuberculosis isolates to the Public Health and Environmental Laboratories or a designated entity for the purpose of universal genotyping.

(g) A clinical laboratory director for a clinical laboratory, operated by or located within a hospital licensed under N.J.A.C. 8:43G, performing culture and sensitivity testing on isolates from human specimens shall annually report a cumulative summary of the names of the species identified, the number of isolates tested per species, the names of antimicrobial agents tested and the percentage of microorganisms susceptible to the antimicrobial agents tested in the manner described below:

1. Submit the data in the format of antibiograms as defined by Analysis and Presentation of Cumulative Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test Data, Approved Guideline - Second Edition (M39-A2);

2. Include only data from the first unique isolate from each patient;

3. Exclude duplicate cultures when compiling these antibiograms; and

4. Send the antibiograms for the preceding year to the Communicable Disease Service, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, PO Box 369, Trenton, NJ 08625-0369 by July 1 of the following year (for example, data for January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006 is due on July 1, 2007).

(h) A clinical laboratory director who sends a laboratory specimen to a referral laboratory for testing shall be responsible for:

1. Reporting to the Department any test result on that specimen as required under (a) and (b) above; and

2. Submitting to the Department any culture isolate from that specimen as required under (g) above.

i. A clinical laboratory director may delegate the reporting and specimen submission requirements in this subsection to the referral laboratory, but this delegation does not relieve the clinical laboratory director of the ultimate reporting and submitting responsibility.

N.J. Admin. Code § 8:57-1.7

Amended by R.1990 d.243, effective 6/4/1990.
See: 21 N.J.R. 3897(a), 22 N.J.R. 1766(a).
Text on reporting of diseases by health officers recodified to 1.8; text on reporting of diseases occurring in schools recodified from 1.5 with notification requirements changed at (a) and new (c) and (d) added.
Administrative Correction in (a): delete "in writing".
See: 22 N.J.R. 2709(a).
Amended by R.2003 d.412, effective 10/20/2003.
See: 34 N.J.R. 3945(a), 35 N.J.R. 4883(b).
Rewrote the section.
Recodified from N.J.A.C. 8:57-1.6 and amended by R.2009 d.107, effective 4/6/2009.
See: 40 N.J.R. 1962(a), 41 N.J.R. 1419(a).
Rewrote the section. Former N.J.A.C. 8:57-1.7, Reporting of diseases by health officers, recodified to N.J.A.C. 8:57-1.9.

The adopted version of this section 56 N.J.R. 213(a), effective 1/3/2024 is not yet available