COVID-19 was most-reported communicable disease in 2021 in Tuscarawas County
DOVER — COVID-19 was the most-reported communicable disease in 2021 in Tuscarawas County, according to the county health department's latest annual communicable disease summary. It summarizes all of the county's infectious diseases that were reported to the Tuscarawas County Health Department and the New Philadelphia City Health Department.
A total of 10,253 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 were reported in 2021, according to the report. The number represents 95% of all reported diseases in Tuscarawas County residents.
The 2021 COVID case rate per 100,000 population for COVID-19 was 10,993.6. The Ohio case rate for 2021 was 16,195.6. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the Tuscarawas County ZIP codes with the highest COVID-19 case rates are as follows, as of Feb. 14, 2022: 44671, Sandyville, case rate per 100,000, 27,931.0; 44622, Dover, case rate per 100,000, 25,828.4; 44682, Tuscarawas, case rate per 100,000, 23,786.4; 44621, Dennison, case rate per 100,000, 23,503; and 44663, New Philadelphia, case rate per 100,000, 23,211.8.
In 2021, there were 10,937 disease investigations completed between the New Philadelphia health department and the county health department, a 63% increase from 2020.
The top 10 most-reported diseases, excluding COVID-19 were chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis C, Lyme disease, campylobacteriosis, cryptosporidiosis, streptococcus pneumoniae, hepatitis A, Legionnaires’ disease and hepatitis B.
The summary includes cases of reportable diseases that were diagnosed among residents of Tuscarawas County, reported to public health, and found to meet the public health surveillance definition of a confirmed, probable or suspected case. The data do not represent all cases of reportable infectious disease that occurred in the community, as individuals may not seek medical care for mild or asymptomatic infections, and laboratory tests are not always conducted.
The summary is meant to provide residents, healthcare organizations and providers with information about preventable diseases.
This report provides data on Tuscarawas County as a whole, and data broken down by the Tuscarawas County Health Department and the New Philadelphia City Health Department jurisdictions.
The departments conduct disease surveillance to determine where patterns, clusters, and outbreaks may be detected. Timely and complete disease reporting allows public health professionals to respond to the changing health status of the community and ensure that prevention activities reach the right people, according to a prepared statement from the county health department.
The summary can be found at https://www.tchdnow.org/uploads/4/2/8/6/42860741/communicable_disease_annual_summary_20 21_final.pdf. For more information, contact the county health department at 330-343-5555.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Pandemic accounts for most infectious diseases in Tusc County in 2021
