A communicable disease is an infectious disease that can be spread from one person to another through a variety of ways. In certain situations, the most susceptible people are those who have not been immunized or are under-immunized, those with weakened immune systems (caused by stress, age, chronic illness, alcoholism, or homelessness), and those whose work or leisure activities put them at risk for disease. The Disease Control and Prevention Division of Chouteau County is responsible for investigating incidents of communicable disease, including those caused by food, water, animals, people, and insects. The public health staff investigates all reports of communicable diseases they receive from providers, nurses, and hospitals. These investigations help prevent communicable diseases from spreading through the community.

How these diseases spread depends on the specific disease or infectious agent. Some ways in which communicable diseases spread:

• Contact with a contaminated surface or object (Norwalk virus), food (salmonella, E. coli), blood (HIV, hepatitis B), or water (cholera).
• Physical contact with an infected person, such as through touch (staphyloccous), sexual intercourse (gonorrhea, HIV), fecal/oral transmission (hepatitis A), or droplets (influenza, TB).
• Bites from insects or animals capable of transmitting the disease (mosquito: malaria and yellow fever; flea: plague, bat: rabies).
• Travel through the air, such as influenza (flu), COVID-19, tuberculosis or measles.

Montana health-care providers are required by law to report cases of specific communicable diseases to their local health department. This enables public health officials to follow up on cases of significance and identify outbreaks or emerging health concerns.

COVID-19 vaccinations are offered in our office on Tuesday afternoons starting at 1pm. Please call our office to schedule an appointment (406) 622-3771. We offer Moderna and Pfizer vaccine products, Monovalent and Bivalent. Please visit the CDC webesite for current COVID-19 vaccination recommendations. Please contact us for any questions or concerns you may have.

If you test positive for COVID-19 using an at-home test, please report your positive test results to CCHD here. Once submitted, you may receive a follow up call from CCHD to further discuss your results. Please note, this form does NOT work with the Internet Explorer web browser. We recommend using Chrome or Firefox.

This is a HIPAA-secure online form. This protected health information will be solely used for follow-up purposes by the Chouteau County Public Health staff and will not be shared outside the Department, or used for other purposes.

Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 should visit MT DPHHS for guidance, as well as the CDC's website for additional information.

To check Chouteau County COVID-19 Community Levels use the CDC's tool below.

For Montana Community leves and COVID-19 Cases please visit the following link: MONTANA COVID-19 RESPONSE

With any COVID-19 questions, concerns, or positive test results please call the health department at (406) 622-3771.