What to Expect When You Get Diagnosed with a Foodborne or Waterborne Illness
Translations
There are many reportable foodborne or waterborne illnesses, such as salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, Shiga toxin-producing E.coli, or other illnesses listed on our disease information page. If you see a healthcare provider and get diagnosed with one of these illnesses, your provider is required to report it to the local health department. Someone from the state or local health department may call you to ask about your illness and exposures you had before becoming ill - such as what foods you ate, if you traveled or had contact with animals, and if you swam in or drank from various water sources.
The health department uses the information collected to identify trends and to try to find out what made people sick. They do this by reviewing the various food, water, and animal exposures each person reports to find any items in common.
If the health department can identify what made people sick, they can help prevent other people from becoming sick. Some ways they can prevent others from getting sick are by removing contaminated food products, providing education to the public, or changing practices at facilities and farms to provide safer food. Your participation in answering the health department's questions is extremely important to help others from getting sick!
Frequently asked questions
How did the health department get my phone number?
If you are diagnosed with a reportable illness, the doctor's office or testing laboratory is required by public health law to report the result to your local health department (in the county where you live). When these laboratory test results are reported, certain patient contact information is shared such as name, age, address, and phone number.
How do I know it's really the health department calling?
If you want to verify that the person you are speaking with is from the health department, you can call the main line at the health department and ask for the person who called you. Local health department phone numbers are listed here. If someone from the New York State Department of Health calls you on behalf of the local health department, the number to verify the caller is the Bureau of Communicable Disease Control main line: 518-473-4439.
Would the health department ever send me a text message?
Yes, health departments may use texting to reach you to set up a phone interview or to complete an online survey. However, no one from the health department will ever ask you for personal information via text message like social security number or credit card information.
What type of questions will the health department ask?
The health department will ask you a variety of questions such as where you work, symptoms you had, what you ate before you got sick, places where you get groceries from, places you went out to eat, if you had any contact with animals, if you had any water exposures, and any places you travelled. The specific questions you are asked will depend on which disease you were diagnosed with and whether you attended an event where others became ill.
Is there anything I can do to prepare for the phone call with the health department?
It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks after you started to feel sick for the health department to reach out to you. Therefore, writing down everything you remember eating in the week (7 days) before you got sick will be helpful to prepare for the call with the health department. Make a list, including where your food came from (grocery store, meal delivery service, party, restaurant etc.), pets and animals you had contact with, any places you traveled out of state or country, and any water exposures you may have had. Reviewing credit card transactions, delivery apps and services, and calendars can also be helpful to remember exposures.
If you use a shopper card or membership at your grocery store - such as swiping a card or entering your phone number at checkout - the health department may ask for details of your account or membership. It is helpful to have the name the account/membership is listed under and the associated account/membership number. This information is useful if an outbreak is detected to identify specific food items you may have purchased.
What does the health department do with my information?
The health department uses your information to identify disease trends and to try to find out what made people sick by reviewing the various exposures of each person to identify any commonalities. If they are able to figure out what is making people sick, they can prevent others from getting sick by removing contaminated products from the food chain, providing education to the public, or changing practices at facilities to provide safer food.
I already answered questions for the health department - why did they call again to ask me similar or more questions?
The health department may call you back to ask more questions for a variety of reasons. They might have questions to confirm or clarify information that was collected previously. They also might call you back to ask about a few specific exposures you had, but in greater detail. For example, if you reported “yes” to having eaten leafy greens, you may be called back to get more information on the type or brand of leafy greens eaten. Details gathered from these additional questions play an important role in outbreak investigations, helping to identify what made people sick and solving outbreaks.
Isn't it a HIPAA violation to get my health information?
No. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) allows for personally identifiable health information to be shared with certain public health entities for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, which includes food and waterborne diseases.
Where is my information kept, and is it shared with anyone else?
Your information is kept in a secure electronic data system managed through the New York State Department of Health. Only certain staff who investigate food and waterborne diseases at the state and local health departments have permission to access the information. While personal identifiable information is not shared further, information you reported about exposures may be shared with other state partners or federal agencies, like the CDC, to help identify what is making people sick and prevent additional illnesses from occurring.
In addition, working in some settings, such as at a daycare, poses a higher risk of spreading illness to others if you are sick, and you may be excluded from work until cleared by the health department. In these scenarios, the health department might notify your employer that you are excluded; however, they won’t give your employer specific information about your diagnosis.
How do I get a copy of my information?
You can request a copy of your case information by filling out a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request, or reaching out to your local health department.
I wasn't sick, why is the health department contacting me about a foodborne illness investigation?
The health department may be alerted about an event or gathering, such as a wedding or party, where many people became sick afterwards. If you attended one of these events, the health department may call you and ask questions about whether or not you became sick, foods and drinks consumed, or other activities related to the event. Even if you did not become sick, it is extremely helpful to answer the health department’s questions so they can compare your exposures to those who did become sick, which can help to find out what caused the illnesses and prevent it from happening again.
The health department may also contact you if you were tested and diagnosed with a reportable illness, even if you didn’t get sick from it. Sometimes this happens with routine screening for certain procedures. Even if you did not have symptoms, it still gets reported to the health department, and they may still call to ask about exposures.
