In the United States, case reports of viral hepatitis are classified as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C/non-A, non-B hepatitis. Serologic testing is necessary to determine the etiology of viral hepatitis and case reports should be based on laboratory confirmation. Each state and territory has regulations and/or laws governing the reporting of diseases and conditions of public health importance.

Thereare two national reporting systems for acute viral hepatitis, the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (NNDSS) and the Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Program (VHSP).

National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System

Case reports of acute hepatitis A and other diseases are transmitted by the state health department weekly to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) via the National Electronic Telecommunications System for Surveillance (NETSS) and include basic demographic information (excluding personal identifiers) age, race/ethnicity, sex, date of onset, date of report, county of residence. It is important to ensure that all acute case reports have a discrete date of onset of illness, clinical evidence of hepatitis (jaundice or elevated serum aminotransferase levels), and appropriate serologic test results before transmission to CDC by the state health department.

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