Program staff is responsible for morbidity reporting, gathering, compiling, and interpreting of data and statistics for all communicable diseases reported in Niagara County. Staff communicate with hospitals in the county on a daily basis to assess for cluster activity or anything unusual. Community education is a vital component of the program, with staff available to provide information to the general public on a variety of infections and diseases. Responsibility for reporting communicable diseases rests primarily with the physician, but also with laboratories, school nurses, day care center directors, nursing homes, hospitals, and other locations providing health services. New York State mandates all communicable diseases be reported directly to the Health Department for surveillance and follow-up. See website for a list of reportable diseases.