Collier County Communicable Disease Surveillance in 2010

Epidemiology is the science which monitors and evaluates the distribution and cause of disease, heath-related states and conditions within specific populations.  In order to carry out its core mission epidemiology relies on various statistical tools such as rates, trends and projections to measure progress towards disease prevention and control within the community and to uncover any unexpected or unusual increase in illness which may pose an increased risk to public health.

The Collier County Health Department monitors the health of the population of the county while preventing epidemics and the subsequent spread of disease.

During 2010, a total of 1,346 reportable diseases and conditions were reported to the Collier County Health Department. 

This continued prevalence is due to: 1) the population growth during the past decade and 2) the increased public awareness and knowledge of health conditions and diseases mainly due to the development of the informational age.  The total number of inquires, consultations and investigations and labs reviewed of non-reportable conditions was 2,442.  Much of these services delivered can be attributed to an increased public awareness of health and wellnesss and newly emerging diseases in Florida.

This trend is expected to increase locally and nationally.

The ten leading reportable diseases and conditions in Collier County in 2010 were, by rank order: Chlamydia, Salmonella, Gonorrhea, Campylobacter, Animal bites requiring Post Exposure Prophylaxis, Giardiasis, Varicella, HIV, Tuberculosis and Streptococcal Pneumoniae Invasive Disease.

These ten causes of morbidity and mortality accounted for 88% of all reportable events reported to the Collier County Health Department during 2010.  The most notable changes in disease patterns in Collier County compared to 2009 were the absence of H1N1 cases due to the Influenza Pandemic which surfaced the year before and a stunning 65% one year increase in Tuberculosis cases – from 20 in 2009 to 33 in 2010.

During 2010, a number of sentinel public health events took place in Collier County and in other counties of the state.  Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the island nation experienced a large scale cholera epidemic which resulted in over 100,000 reported cases and over 2,000 deaths. 

In November 2010, the Collier County Health Department reported the first imported cholera case (Naples) in the entire United States from the Haitian Epidemic.  Due to prior internal epidemiologic planning and a very quick public health response and thorough investigation by Collier Epidemiology staff, no secondary transmission of the disease was reported in our community.

2010 also saw an emergence in arboviral mosquito-borne diseases in Collier County.  In August, 2 cases of West Nile Virus were reported, the first cases reported in the county since 2003.  In June and July 4 cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis occurred in horses in greater Collier County.  These were the first EEE cases recorded in the public health history of the county.  Other cases of mosquito-borne disease reported in Collier County during 2010 include 4 imported Malaria case and 2 imported Dengue cases.  During 2009 the county did not experience any mosquito-borne disease.  

The Epidemiology and Health Assessment Program is meeting the public health challenges of a rapidly evolving socio-economic demographic and enviro-epidemiologic Collier County by continuously monitoring and evaluating the health situation of the community and preventing the spread of disease.  One of the largest emerging public health threats to Collier County is Dengue, the most common mosquito-borne virus in the world, causing 100 million infections and 25,000 deaths each year.  In 2010 63 cases of locally acquired dengue occurred in Key West (Monroe County) and 1 case in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties.  The vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are both present in Collier.  The fact that locally acquired dengue is occurring within contiguous counties around us should raise our vigilance level and increase our surveillance.

A report detailing the number of confirmed diseases and conditions for 2010 is now available.