Information for Healthcare Providers

This page contains important information for healthcare providers, and resources for anyone who needs to report a potential disease outbreak in the City of Alexandria. Together, we can protect and promote health and well-being in our community.
Page updated on October 31, 2023 at 12:24 PM

Reporting a Disease or Outbreak?

To report a disease to Alexandria Health Department, please follow these steps. 

 

Reports

 

Consult Virginia Reportable Disease List.  

 

 

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If disease should be reported immediately (within 24 hours for rapidly reportable conditions), call 703.746.4951. For TB (or suspected TB), call 703.746.4960 and press 2 to speak with a nurse.

 

 

                                                           If disease should be reported within 3 days: 

Forms
  • Call 703.746.4951
  •  Report online through the Online Disease Reporting Portal (links to the Virginia Department of Health). If you experience technical issues with the VDH       Disease Reporting Portal, please download the VDH Disease Reporting Form (Epi-1) and
  •  Fax form to: 703.746.4953
  • Mail form to: ATTN: Communicable Disease, 4850 Mark Center Drive, Alexandria, VA 22311. Reports must include: Patient's name, home address, and                                                                 phone number; patient's date of birth; date of diagnosis; date of symptom onset

 

                                                           Suspect a disease of public health concern but no confirmation yet? 

Eip1

Virginia Department of Health (VDH) encourages you to report suspected cases of diseases before laboratory confirmation (e.g. mumps, B. pertussis, meningitis, etc.) to the Health Department immediately  so we can:

  • Provide guidance on lab testing and facilitate sending specimens to the state public health lab
  • Offer infection control recommendations
  • Start a public health investigation right away

                                                           If you would like to report aggregate influenza testing results please use the  AHD Weekly Influenza Reporting Form 

Regulations

Virginia State law requires requires all physicians report certain diseases to the local health department serving the jurisdiction where the physician practices.

Looking for another local health department? Visit the VDH Local Health District Directory.

For the latest updates, and rules and regulations for disease reporting, please consult Virginia Department of Health's website.

Infectious Disease Provider Guidance by Disease

Mpox

 If you are evaluating a patient suspected of having mpox (also known as monkeypox), call Alexandria Health Department (AHD) at 703.746.4951. 

Mpox is a considered a rapidly reportable disease, and healthcare providers are required to report suspect cases, even if testing using a commercial laboratory such as Labcorp. Do not wait for confirmatory or rule-out testing before calling.  AHD can advise on risk factors, testing resources, patient isolation instructions, treatment considerations, and infection prevention practices for your healthcare setting.

 

When to Suspect mpox:

If the patient has a new characteristic rash or if the patient meets 1 of the epidemiologic criteria listed below and there is a high clinical suspicion for monkeypox. 

 Within previous 21 days, patient:

  •  Had contact with a person with a similar appearing rash or who received a diagnosis of confirmed or probable monkeypox 

OR

  • Had skin-to-skin contact with someone in a social network experiencing monkeypox activity, this includes men who have sex with men

 OR

  • Those who traveled to places or attended events where monkeypox cases have been confirmed in the month before symptoms appeared

OR 

  • Had contact with laboratory specimens or other items that could serve as fomites that have been in contact with a person or animal with a suspected or known orthopox or monkeypox virus infection 

OR

  • Had contact with a dead or live wild animal or exotic pet that is an African endemic species or used a product derived from such animals (e.g., game meat, creams, etc)

 

Lab Testing Guidance

Commercial Lab Testing

  • Mpox (orthopox) testing is becoming more widely available through commercial labs.
  • Once available, providers can order the mpox test just as they normally would other tests. 
  • As of 7/6 Labcorp offers mpox (orthopox testing)
  • As of 7/12 Mayo clinic offers mpox (orthopox testing)

 

State Lab Testing (Free – no cost to patient or provider)

  • If your practice does not have access to commercial lab monkeypox (orthopox) testing, work with AHD to obtain approval for testing through our state public health laboratory, Department of Consolidated Laboratory (DCLS)

 

Testing Instructions for Suspected mpox (orthopox)

Test Type

Specimen Type

What PPE to Wear

How to collect

Storage /Transport

Real time PCR

Collect dry swabs (2 swabs per site)

 

Pair dry lesion swabs from different parts of the body

 

Collect 2-4 dry swabs of lesions from different parts of the body

*Can use VZV or SARS-COV-2 collection swabs as long as they are placed into a dry tube

Wear gown, gloves, eye protection, and N95 while collecting specimens

-Rub lesions vigorously

 

-Place swabs of lesions from different body areas into separate, dry, sterile tubes or containers (e.g. urine cup if tubes unavailable)

 

-Do not use viral transport media (VTM) or universal transport media (UTM)

-Label specimens with patient name, DOB,  specimen site, date/time of collection

 

-Refrigerate specimens within 1 hour of collection

 

-Ship on ice packs

To join the healthcare provider email list for updates, please email alex_epi@vdh.virginia.gov.

 

Statewide mpox updates and resources like monkeypox information sheets can be found on the VDH Monkeypox for Healthcare Professionals page.

Additional resources from AHD: public website with general info about the mpox virus, One-pager/poster for provider's offices  and follow up info for people with mpox . 

Zika

Online Zika Test Request Form

 

Local Reports to Clinicians

EPI Reports

Annual Summary of Reportable Diseases: Every year, our epidemiology program compiles a report summarizing cases of reportable diseases investigated by Alexandria Health Department. The report also highlights notable public health topics and initiatives in our community. Past reports are available below. 

 

Monthly Local Public Health Alerts: Alexandria’s epidemiology program sends monthly reports to providers with important public health information.

Please email alex_epi@vdh.virginia.gov or call 703.746.4951 to add your office to the distribution list for our annual or monthly reports. Visit our Epidemiology page to learn more about Alexandria Health Department's program. 

Additional Resources for Clinicians

Virginia Department of Health offers useful resources for healthcare providers including: letters to clinicians from the State Health Commissioner, training opportunities, best practices and more. Visit: www.vdh.virginia.gov/clinicians/      

 

 How do a I start a Respiratory Protection Program for my office?

For more information on creating a Respiratory Protection Program visit  https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3079.pdf