Wash. Admin. Code § 246-101-010

Current through Register Vol. 24-23, December 1, 2024

Section 246-101-010 - Definitions, abbreviations, and acronyms

The definitions, abbreviations, and acronyms in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1) "Animal case" means an animal, alive or dead, with a diagnosis or suspected diagnosis of a notifiable condition in Table Agriculture-1 of WAC 246-101-805 made by a veterinarian licensed under chapter 18.92 RCW, veterinary medical facility licensed under chapter 18.92 RCW, or veterinary laboratory as defined under chapter 16.70 RCW based on clinical criteria, or laboratory criteria, or both.

(2) "Animal case report" means the data and other supporting information submitted by the Washington state department of agriculture to the department under WAC 246101-810 for an individual animal with a notifiable condition.

(3) "Associated death" means a death resulting directly or indirectly from a case of the specified condition, with no period of complete recovery between the onset of the condition and death.

(4) "Blood lead level" means a measurement of lead content in whole blood.

(5) "Board" means the Washington state board of health.

(6) "Business day" means any day that the department is open for business.

(7) "Carrier" means a person harboring a specific infectious agent without developing symptoms and serving as a potential source of infection to others.

(8) "Case" means a person, alive or dead, with a diagnosis or suspected diagnosis of a condition made by a health care provider, health care facility, or laboratory based on clinical criteria, or laboratory criteria, or both, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists case definitions.

(9) "Case report" means the data and other supporting information submitted by a health care provider or health care facility to public health authorities under WAC 246-101-115 for an individual patient with a notifiable condition.

(10) "Communicable disease" means an infectious disease that can be transmitted from A person, animal, or object to A person by direct or indirect means including, but not limited to, transmission through an intermediate host or vector, food, water, or air.

(11) "Condition" means an infectious or noninfec-tious condition as these terms are defined in this chapter.

(12) "Department" or "DOH" means the Washington state department of health.

(13) "Health care-associated infection" means a localized or systemic condition that results from adverse reaction to the presence of an infectious agent or its toxins and that was not present or incubating at the time of admission to the health care facility.

(14) "Health care facility" means:

(a) Assisted living facilities licensed under chapter 18.20 RCW;

(b) Birthing center s licensed under chapter 18.46 RCW;

(c) Nursing home s licensed under chapter 18.51 RCW;

(d) Hospital s licensed under chapter 70.41 RCW;

(e) Adult family home s licensed under chapter 70.128 RCW;

(f) Ambulatory surgical facilities licensed under chapter 70.230 RCW;

(g) Private establishment s licensed under chapter 71.12 RCW;

(h) Enhanced service facilities licensed under chapter 70.97 RCW;

(i) Clinics, or other settings where one or more health care providers practice; and

(j) In reference to a sexually transmitted infection, other settings as defined in chapter 70.24 RCW.

(15) "Health care provider" means any person having direct or supervisory responsibility for the delivery of health care whose scope of practice allows for diagnosis and treatment of notifiable conditions and who is:

(a) Licensed or certified in this state under Title 18 RCW; or

(b) Military personnel providing health care within the state regardless of licensure.

(16) "Immediately " means without delay, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

(a) For health care providers and health care facilities, immediately means at the time a case is identified;

(b) For laboratories, immediately means upon receiving a presumptive or final test result; or

(c) For state agencies and local health jurisdictions, immediately means upon receiving notification of a case.

(17) "Infection control measures" means the management of an infected person, or of a person suspected to be infected, and others in a manner to prevent transmission of the infectious agent . Infection control measures include, but are not limited to, isolation and quarantine.

(18) "Infectious condition" means a disease caused by a pathogenic organism such as bacteria, virus, fungus, parasite, or infectious agent, and includes communicable disease and zoonotic disease.

(19) "Influenza, novel" or "influenza virus, novel" means a human infection with an influenza A virus subtype that is different from currently circulating human influenza subtypes. Novel subtypes include, but are not limited to, H2, H5, H7, and H9 subtypes.

(20) "Institutional review board" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70.02.010.

(21) "Investigation report" means the data and other supporting information submitted by a local health jurisdiction to the department under WAC 246-101-513(2) for an individual patient with a notifiable condition.

(22) "Isolation" means the separation of infected or contaminated persons or animals from others to prevent or limit the transmission of the infectious agent or contaminant from those infected or contaminated to those who are susceptible to disease or who may spread the infectious agent or contaminant to others.

(23) "Laboratory" means any facility licensed as a test site or medical test site under chapter 70.42 RCW and chapter 246-338 WAC, including any laboratory that is granted a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA)-Waiver.

(24) "Laboratory director" means the person, or person's designee, by whatever title known, having the administrative responsibility for a laboratory.

(25) "Laboratory report" means the data and other supporting information submitted by a laboratory director to public health authorities under WAC 246-101-225 for an individual patient with a notifiable condition.

(26) "Local health jurisdiction" or "LHJ" means a county health department under chapter 70.05 RCW, citycounty health department under chapter 70.08 RCW, or health district under chapter 70.46 RCW.

(27) "Local health officer" means the legally qualified physician who has been appointed as the health officer for the local health jurisdiction under chapter 70.05 RCW, or their designee.

(28) "MERS" means Middle East respiratory syndrome.

(29) "Noninfectious condition" means a disease or health concern that may lead to disease caused by nonpathogenic factors.

(30) "Notifiable condition" means a condition identified in Table HC-1 of WAC 246-101-101, Table Lab-1 of WAC 246-101-201, or Table Agriculture-1 of WAC 246-101-805, a case of which requires notification to public health authorities under this chapter; or a condition designated by the local health officer as notifiable within their jurisdiction under WAC 246-101-505(4)(d). Notifiable condition does not include provisional conditions as defined under WAC 246101-015.

(31) "Outbreak" means the occurrence of a condition in an area over a given period of time in excess of the expected number of occurrences including, but not limited to, food-borne disease, waterborne disease, and health care-associated infection.

(32) "Outbreak report" means the data and other supporting information about an outbreak that local health jurisdictions submit to the department under WAC 246-101513(3) following investigation of an outbreak.

(33) "PCR" means polymerase chain reaction.

(34) "Pesticide poisoning" means the disturbance of function, damage to structure, or illness in humans resulting from the inhalation, absorption, ingestion of, or contact with any pesticide.

(35) "Presumptive" means a preliminary test result that has not yet been confirmed as a definitive result.

(36) "Principal health care provider" means the attending health care provider recognized as primarily responsible for diagnosis or treatment of a patient, or in the absence of such, the health care provider initiating diagnostic testing or treatment for the patient.

(37) "Provisional condition" means a condition the department has requested be reported under WAC 246-101015.

(38) "Public health authorities" includes local health jurisdictions, the department, the department of labor and industries, the department of agriculture, sovereign tribal nations, and tribal epidemiology centers.

(39) "Quarantine" means the limitation of freedom of movement of persons or domestic animals that have been exposed to, or are suspected to have been exposed to, an infectious agent:

(a) For a period of time not longer than the longest usual incubation period of the infectious agent; and

(b) In a way to prevent effective contact with those not exposed.

(40) "Rapid screening test" or "RST" means a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved or authorized test that provides same day results and is suitable for obtaining presumptive test results. RST includes point-of-care testing.

(41) "Reference laboratory" means a laboratory licensed inside or outside of Washington state that receives a specimen from another licensed laboratory and performs one or more tests on that specimen.

(42) "School" has the same meaning as in RCW 28A.210.-070.

(43) "SARS" means severe acute respiratory syndrome.

(44) "Secretary" means the secretary of the Washington state department of health.

(45) "Secure electronic data transmission" means electronic communication and accounts developed and maintained to prevent unauthorized access, loss, or compromise of sensitive information including, but not limited to, secure file transfer, secure email, secure facsimile, a health information exchange authorized under RCW 41.05.039, and secure electronic disease surveillance system.

(46) "Secure electronic disease surveillance system" means the secure electronic data transmission system maintained by the department and used by local health jurisdictions to submit notifications, investigation reports, and outbreak reports under this chapter.

(47) "Sexually transmitted disease " or "sexually transmitted infection" means a bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic disease or condition which is usually transmitted through sexual contact, including:

(a) Acute pelvic inflammatory disease;

(b) Chancroid;

(c)Chlamydia trachomatis infection;

(d) Genital and neonatal Herpes simplex;

(e) Genital human papilloma virus infection;

(f) Gonorrhea;

(g) Granuloma inguinale;

(h) Hepatitis B infection;

(i) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection ;

(j) Lymphogranuloma venereum;

(k) Nongonococcal urethritis (NGU); and

(l) Syphilis.

(48) "Specimen" means material associated or suspected to be associated with a notifiable condition including, but not limited to, isolates, blood, serum, stool, urine, tissue, respiratory secretions, swab, other body fluid, or an environmental sample.

(49) "State health officer" means the person appointed by the secretary under RCW 43.70.020 to serve as statewide health officer, or, in the absence of such appointment, the secretary.

(50) "Veterinarian" means an individual licensed and practicing under provisions of chapter 18.92 RCW.

(51) "Zoonotic disease" means an infectious condition of animals that can cause disease when transmitted to humans.

Wash. Admin. Code § 246-101-010

Amended by WSR 14-11-009, filed 5/8/14, effective 6/8/2014

Amended by WSR 21-11-040, Filed 5/12/2021, effective 1/31/2022