Maryland Administrative Code

.13 Psittacosis. A. There is no control of a human case or contacts. B. Infection Control. A health care provider shall practice appropriate disinfection and disposal of respiratory discharges. C. The sale and distribution of exotic birds and handling of exotic birds which are ca…

.14 Rabies. A. Control of a Case (Human). A health care provider shall apply contact isolation to the case for the period of communicability. B. Control of Contacts. A health officer or health care provider shall evaluate individually a close contact or hospital contact to determ…

.15 Rubella (German Measles). A. Control of a Case. A health officer or health care provider shall recommend that a case: (1) Be isolated from a woman of childbearing age who is not immune or is of unknown immunity, from the onset of illness through the 7th day after appearance o…

.16 Salmonellosis. A. Control of a Case. (1) For a case with diarrhea due to or presumed due to salmonellosis, a health officer shall restrict or exclude a case from: (a) Attending a child care facility; or (b) Participating in an occupation involving: (i) Food handling; (ii) Pat…

.17 Syphilis and HIV. A. Control of a Case. (1) For an individual who appears to have or who has syphilis in a stage which is or may become communicable, or HIV, a physician shall instruct the individual in the use of any measure and render any treatment which may be necessary to…

.18 Other Sexually Transmitted Infections. A. Control of a Case. (1) Hepatitis, viral type B, as discussed in Regulation .11 of this chapter. (2) A physician in attendance upon a person who appears to have, or who has a sexually transmissible disease in a stage which is or may be…

.19 Shigellosis. A. Control of a Case. (1) A case may not attend a child care facility until: (a) The case's fecal cultures are Shigella-free on two consecutive specimens collected not less than 24 hours apart and not sooner than 48 hours following discontinuation of antibiotics,…

.20 Tuberculosis. A. Control of a Case and Suspected Case. (1) A health care provider shall immediately send notification that they have a patient who is suspected of being in a communicable stage to the local health officer of the jurisdiction in which the patient is currently l…

.21 Typhoid Fever (Salmonella Typhi) and Paratyphoid Fever (Salmonella Paratyphi A, Salmonella Paratyphi B tartrate negative, and Salmonella Paratyphi C). A. Control of a Case. (1) A case may not attend a child care facility until fecal specimens are Salmonella-free on three cons…

.22 Sale and Distribution of Reptiles. A. Scope. (1) Pursuant to the authority conferred upon the Secretary by Health-General Article, §18-219, Annotated Code of Maryland, the Secretary has determined that reptiles and reptile eggs are dangerous to human health and safety in that…

.23 Communicable Disease Information Provided With Sale and Distribution of Pet Animals. To help prevent the spread of a communicable disease, a seller or a group of sellers who prepares or causes to be prepared a pamphlet, flyer, or other printed information on the handling of o…

.24 Control of Communicable Diseases in Pet Stores. A. A pet store shall utilize procedures to ensure prevention and control of diseases common to and shared among humans and animals. B. To ensure prevention and control of diseases common to and shared among humans and animals, t…

.01 Scope. This chapter provides for cooperative rabies control efforts by the Department, local health officers, physicians, veterinarians, and other Maryland government agencies as guided by policy statements such as the Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control, issue…

.02 Definitions. A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated. B. Terms Defined. (1) “Adequately vaccinated” means a graduate veterinarian at a public antirabies clinic or a licensed veterinarian has: (a) Immunized an animal against rabies in accordance wit…

.03 Human Rabies. A. Reporting. (1) A physician, medical authority, or another person having knowledge of or suspicion of a case of human rabies shall immediately report the facts to the local health officer. (2) A local health officer who has received a report of a case or suspe…

.04 Animal Rabies. A. Reporting. An individual shall report immediately by telephone or in person to the local police, sheriff’s department, or local animal control authority if they know of an animal that: (1) Has rabies; (2) Is suspected of having rabies; or (3) Has had a bite …

.05 Reporting Bite or Non-Bite Contacts to Humans. A. A person having knowledge of an individual's having a bite from or non-bite contact with an animal shall report the facts of the contact immediately by telephone or in person to the local police or sheriff's department, except…

.06 Risk Assessment Following Bite or Non-Bite Contact to Humans. Following the report of a bite or non-bite contact to a human, the local health officer shall conduct a risk assessment that includes a determination of: A. The species of animal that made the contact; B. Whether t…

.07 Disposition of Animals Following Bite or Non-Bite Contact to Humans. A. When the local health officer has determined that quarantine of the exposing animal is allowable based on the findings of the risk assessment, the animal shall be quarantined. B. Quarantine Period. (1) Do…

.08 Area Quarantine. A. If rabies is known to exist within an area, the Public Health Veterinarian, in conjunction with the Maryland Department of Agriculture, may establish an area quarantine for rabies, define the boundaries of the quarantine area, and specify the species of an…

.09 Laboratory Testing. A. A local health officer or local animal control authority shall submit rabies specimens for laboratory testing. B. The director of the rabies testing laboratory shall promptly forward a copy of the results of a rabies examination to the: (1) Local health…

.10 Vaccination of Animals. A. An owner or custodian of a dog, cat, or ferret shall have that animal adequately vaccinated against rabies by the time the dog, cat, or ferret is 4 months old. B. Vaccination Documentation. (1) Except for a local animal control authority, an owner o…

.11 Importation of Animals. A. Except as provided in §§B and I of this regulation, the owner or custodian of a dog, cat, or ferret 4 months old or older to be imported into the State for any purpose shall forward a certificate, issued by a licensed veterinarian, to the Public Hea…

.12 Permits Required for Keeping Certain Animals. The Secretary shall require a person to obtain from the Public Health Veterinarian a permit for keeping certain animals or species of animals if the Secretary has determined that these animals or species of animals represent a sub…

.13 Disposition of Animals by Animal Shelters, Pounds, or Veterinarians. A. The owner or custodian of an animal who surrenders the animal to an animal shelter, pound, or veterinarian for the purpose of having the animal humanely killed or for the purpose of offering the animal fo…

.14 Penalty. A person refusing or failing to comply with the provisions of this chapter, or with the orders or directives of the local health officer, the State Epidemiologist, or the Public Health Veterinarian as provided by this chapter, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, up…

.01 Scope. This chapter governs ImmuNet, a computer-based registry of immunizations, as established in Health-General Article, §18-109, Annotated Code of Maryland.

.02 Definitions. A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated. B. Terms Defined. (1) “Authorized user” means: (a) A child care facility; (b) A health care provider; (c) A health insurer; (d) A health maintenance organization; (e) An institution of higher le…

.03 Administration of ImmuNet. A. The Department shall support and administer ImmuNet. B. The Department may enter or edit information contained in ImmuNet. C. ImmuNet is subject to the security and reliability standards set forth in Regulation .09 of this chapter. D. The Departm…

.04 Information Reported to ImmuNet. A. The Department shall enter the following information from each birth certificate registered in Maryland: (1) Child’s: (a) First, middle, and last name; (b) Date of birth; (c) Sex; and (d) Current or last known address; and (2) Child’s mothe…

.05 User Agreement. A. An authorized user who wishes to obtain information from ImmuNet shall enter into a user agreement with the Department for the purpose of protecting the confidentiality and security of ImmuNet information. B. The user agreement shall include but not be limi…

.06 Refusal and Reactivation. A. An individual or a parent or guardian of a minor child who has received an immunization may at any time prohibit information in ImmuNet from being disclosed to authorized users by providing to the Department a signed and dated Refusal to Permit Di…

.07 Permissible Use of ImmuNet Information. Information in ImmuNet may be used by authorized users for the following purposes: A. To provide coordinated immunization services, including sending reminder notices to individuals who need immunizations; B. To obtain an individual imm…

.08 Regional and Other State Immunization Registries. A. A regional registry shall submit to ImmuNet all immunization information on Maryland residents within 14 calendar days of receipt of the information. B. If the confidentiality of records of Maryland citizens is protected, t…

.09 Security and Reliability Standards. A. The Department shall maintain ImmuNet in accordance with system security requirements for federal information processing systems, including National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 800-53 Special Publication, and prevailing …

.01 School Health Services. The local health department shall cooperate with the local school system in implementing the School Health Services regulations found in COMAR 13A.05.05.05—15.

.02 Definitions. A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated. B. Terms Defined. (1) “Health officer” means the health officer in each of the 23 counties of Maryland and the Commissioner of Health in Baltimore City, the designated representative of the heal…

.03 Required Immunizations. A. Except as provided in Regulations .04—.06 of this chapter, a preschool or school principal or other person in charge of a preschool or school, public or private, may not knowingly admit a student to or retain a student in a: (1) Preschool program un…

.04 Medical Contraindications. A. The requirements of Regulation .03 of this chapter do not apply to a student who presents a licensed physician's or health officer's written statement that the student's immunization against a disease in Regulation .03 of this chapter is medicall…

.05 Religious Exemption. A. Using the form provided by the Maryland Department of Health, a student whose parent or guardian objects to immunization on the ground that the immunization conflicts with the parent's or guardian's bona fide religious beliefs and practices is exempt f…

.06 Temporary Admission or Retention. A. Subject to the provisions of §B of this regulation, a preschool or school, public or private, shall temporarily admit a student to or retain a student in a preschool or school if: (1) The student is homeless; or (2) The student's parent or…

.07 Vaccine Provision. A. A student may have an immunization administered by the student's personal physician. B. If a parent or guardian cannot obtain the service of a private physician, the parent or guardian of the student may take the student to the local health department fo…

.08 Record Review. A preschool or school, public or private, shall make immunization records of students available for review by a health officer as needed to assure compliance with regulations or to ascertain the immunization status of students.

.09 Report on New Students. Annually, by November 15, on a form provided by the Department, a preschool or school, public or private, shall provide the health officer of the jurisdiction where the school is located with an immunization report of students in preschool through 12th…

.10 Responsible Agencies. The local superintendents of schools and the local health officers shall be responsible for carrying out the provisions of this chapter.

.01 Scope. This chapter applies to meningococcal vaccination of individuals enrolled in institutions of higher education who are living in on-campus student housing.

.02 Definitions. A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated. B. Terms Defined. (1) “Enrolled” means having registered for a credit or noncredit course. (2) “Institution of higher education” means a school of post-secondary education that generally limits …