The Washington State Board of Health (Board) adopted amendments to the state’s Communicable and Certain Other Diseases rule at its January public meeting. A brief summary of the changes include:
- Reporting requirements for sexually transmitted diseases
- Procedures for investigations of sexually transmitted disease under RCW 70.24.024
- Behavior that endangers the public health, for purposes of RCW 70.24.024, based upon generally accepted standards of medical and public health sciences
- Definition, for the purposes of RCW 70.24.120, of specimens that can be obtained and tests that can be administered for sexually transmitted diseases, blood-borne pathogens, and other infections
- Categories of employment that are at risk of substantial exposure to a blood-borne pathogen
- Definition, for purposes of RCW 70.24.340, 70.24.360, and 70.24.370, of what constitutes an exposure that presents a possible risk of transmission of a blood-borne pathogen in occupational settings, jail facilities, and Department of Corrections facilities
The rulemaking concise explanatory statement summarizes the differences between the proposed rules and adopted rules and the response to public comments. More information and links to resources about the rule are available on the rule web page.
