Reporting
For more information, send us an email at PH-HIV/AIDS@venturacounty.gov or call 805-652-5780.
State regulations require reporting of HIV and AIDS cases to the local health department. California’s disease reporting regulations not only specify what, when, where and how to report cases, but also include descriptions of monetary penalties to be imposed for failure to comply with these laws.
Why is Reporting Necessary?
Timely and accurate reporting of HIV and AIDS cases provides our county with a clearer understanding of the local epidemic. Epidemiologists can monitor trends in the populations affected by HIV infection, project future case numbers, and offer crucial information to those responsible for planning future healthcare needs, prevention efforts, and educational activities.
Failure to report in a timely manner may have an impact on current and projected funding needs. Funding formulas using data that represents under-reporting of HIV or AIDS cases may translate into underfunded programs and services for those with HIV infection. Most importantly, failure to report would delay provision of services and resources available for newly diagnosed individuals.
Reporting HIV
The State of California implemented HIV reporting regulations July 1, 2002 (California Code of Regulations, Title 17, Section 2641.5-2653.2), amended by legislation on April 17, 2006. The original regulations required health care providers and laboratories to report cases using a non-name code. The April 17, 2006, legislation requires HIV cases, like AIDS cases, to be reported by name. As with many other communicable diseases, this is a dual reporting process in which both health care providers and laboratories are required to report.
When is HIV Reported?
Report an HIV case when a patient has a test result indicative of HIV infection (to report an AIDS case, see Reporting AIDS below). Tests indicative of HIV infection include:
- Confirmed positive HIV antibody test (Bio-Rad HIV Geenius and VioOne HIV Profile Supplemental Assay)
- Any viral load test
- Positive P24 antigen test
- Positive viral isolation test
- Positive Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT)
- CD4+T-cell test (clinical laboratories may withhold report if they can demonstrate that the CD4+T-cell test is unrelated to a diagnosed case of HIV infection)
Providers report a patient once when a test result is indicative of HIV infection and once again if the individual meets the AIDS case definition. Always report a case, even if you think the patient may have been reported by another provider. This helps ensure complete case capture, which is critical for local prevention and treatment funding.
Who Reports HIV?
Health care providers and laboratory directors or their designees are required to report all patients with a test indicative of HIV immediately to the local health department. In Ventura County, all HIV disease reports are processed by the Public Health HIV/AIDS Program. When a laboratory has a test indicative of HIV infection, they report a limited amount of information to the HIV/AIDS Program. When the healthcare provider becomes aware of a positive lab result, they need to contact the HIV/AIDS department before disclosing the diagnosis to the patient.
What is Reported?
When calling to report an HIV case, please have the following information ready: name, address, phone, racial/ethnic group, gender, date of birth, mode of transmission information, laboratory accession number, test reported, date of test, and the name, address, and phone number of the person or facility making the report.
How to Report HIV?
HIV cases must be reported immediately over the phone at 805-652-5780. The HIV Team makes every effort to be present with the Healthcare Provider and the patient at the time of HIV diagnosis disclosure. We assist providers and remain with the patient to counsel them, provide emotional support, and provide direct linkage to an HIV specialist at that time. It is important for patients to leave the provider’s office with a clear plan for moving forward and an established support system. This approach has proven to be very effective in not only getting patients into care but also in keeping them engaged in their treatment. As a result, it improves their health outcomes, reduces HIV transmission rates, and lowers healthcare costs.
Jane Ward
HIV Surveillance Coordinator
1801 Solar Dr. Suite 250
Oxnard, CA 93030
Fax: 805-652-3320
For more information about HIV reporting, click on: Office of AIDS, HIV Reporting Laws.
Reporting AIDS
AIDS has been required to be reported in California since 1983 (California Code of Regulations, Title 17, Section 2500) and AIDS has always been reported by name to the HIV/AIDS Program.
When is AIDS Reported?
When an individual is diagnosed with one or more of the AIDS defining conditions listed below, their HIV care providers are required to report the case to the HIV/AIDS program within 7 days of the diagnosis. A diagnosis of one or more of these conditions, regardless of the CD4 count, confirms a diagnosis of AIDS.
- CD4+ T-lymphocyte count <200 mL/mm3
- Candidiasis of the esophagus, bronchi, trachea, or lungs [(but NOT the mouth (thrush)]
- Cervical cancer, invasive
- Coccidioidomycosis, disseminated or extrapulmonary
- Cryptococcosis, extrapulmonary
- Cryptosporidiosis, chronic intestinal (greater than one month’s duration)
- Cytomegalovirus disease or CMV (other than liver, spleen, or nodes)
- Cytomegalovirus retinitis (with loss of vision)
- Encephalopathy, HIV related
- Herpes simplex: chronic ulcer(s) (more than 1 month in duration); or bronchitis, pneumonitis, or esophagitis
- Histoplasmosis, disseminated or extrapulmonary
- Isosporiasis, chronic intestinal (more than 1 month in duration)
- Kaposi sarcoma
- Lymphoma, Burkitt’s (or equivalent term)
- Lymphoma, immunoblastic (or equivalent term)
- Lymphoma, primary, of brain
- Mycobacterium avium complex or M kansasii, disseminated or extrapulmonary
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis, any site (pulmonary or extrapulmonary)
- Mycobacterium, other species or unidentified species, disseminated or extrapulmonary
- Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP)
- Pneumonia, recurrent
- Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
- Salmonella septicemia, recurrent
- Toxoplasmosis of brain
- Wasting syndrome due to HIV
(Source: Revised classification system for HIV infection and expanded surveillance case definition for AIDS among adolescents and adults. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, December 18, 1992/41 (RR-17), 1993).
Diagnosis of AIDS in children less than 13 years of age includes all of the above list except pulmonary tuberculosis and CD4 count cut-offs.
Recurrent bacterial infections (at least two episodes within a two-year period) and lymphoid interstitial pneumonia/pulmonary lymphoid hyperplasia (LIP/PLH) are AIDS defining conditions for HIV infected children.
The original case definition of AIDS was established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 1981. Additional conditions and diseases were added in 1985, 1987, 1999 and 2014. All case definitions and revisions are published in the CDC’s publication entitled `Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report’ (MMWR).
Who Reports AIDS?
AIDS is a condition listed in California’s disease reporting regulations. The statute reads: “Every health care provider knowing of or in attendance on a case or suspected case of a disease/condition in Section 2500 is required to make a report. When a health care provider is not in attendance on a case, any individual having knowledge of a person with one of the reportable diseases or conditions is required to notify the local health department.”
What is Reported?
When reporting AIDS cases to the HIV/AIDS Program, it should include, but is not limited to, name, address, phone number, racial/ethnic group, gender, date of birth, mode of transmission information, diagnosis, date of diagnosis, and the name, address and phone of the person or facility making the report. Lab results should also be provided to further verify the AIDS-defining illnesses.
How to Report AIDS?
Providers can submit a confidential case report form available from Ventura County Public Health. Click here to download the case report form. For instructions on how to fill out the form, please contact Jane Ward at 805-652-5780. Forms can be sent to:
Jane Ward, HIV Surveillance Coordinator
Ventura County Public Health
1801 Solar Dr. Suite 250
Oxnard, CA 93030
Providers are also encouraged to report cases by phone. For additional information, call the surveillance line 805-652-5780.
Last updated March 19, 2026
