§ 139A.2 — Definitions

Iowa § 139A.2

• Jurisdiction: Iowa
• Title IV: PUBLIC HEALTH
• Ch. 139A: COMMUNICABLE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND POISONINGS

Text

For purposes of this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. “Area quarantine” means prohibiting ingress and egress to and from a building or
buildings, structure or structures, or other definable physical location, or portion thereof,
to prevent or contain the spread of a suspected or confirmed quarantinable disease or to
prevent or contain exposure to a suspected or known chemical, biological, radioactive, or
other hazardous or toxic agent.
2. “Business” means and includes every trade, occupation, or profession.
3. “Care provider” means an individual who is trained and authorized by federal or state
law to provide health care services or services of any kind in the course of the individual’s
official duties, for compensation or in a voluntary capacity, who is a health care provider,
§139A.2, COMMUNICABLE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND POISONINGS 2
emergency medical care provider as defined in section 147A.1, fire fighter, or peace officer.
“Care provider” also means an individual who renders emergency care or assistance in an
emergency or due to an accident as described in section 613.17.
4. “Communicable disease” means any disease spread from person to person or animal
to person.
5. “Contagiousorinfectiousdisease”meanshepatitisinanyform, meningococcaldisease,
AIDS or HIV as defined in section 141A.1, tuberculosis, and any other disease determined to
be life-threatening to a person exposed to the disease as established by rules adopted by the
department, based upon a determination by the state epidemiologist and in accordance with
guidelines of the centers for disease control and prevention of the United States department
of health and human services.
6. “Department” means the department of health and human services.
7. “Designated officer” means a person who is designated by a department, agency,
division, or service organization to act as an infection control liaison officer.
8. “Director” means the director of health and human services.
9. “Exposure” means a specific eye, mouth, other mucous membrane, nonintact skin, or
parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious bodily fluids.
10. “Exposure-prone procedure” means a procedure performed by a health care provider
whichpresentsarecognizedriskofpercutaneousinjurytothehealthcareproviderandifsuch
an injury occurs, the health care provider’s blood is likely to contact a patient’s body cavity,
subcutaneous tissues, or mucous membranes, or an exposure-prone procedure as defined by
the centers for disease control and prevention of the United States department of health and
human services.
11. “HBV” means hepatitis B virus.
12. “Health care facility” means a health care facility as defined in section 135C.1, an
ambulatory surgical center, or a clinic.
13. “Health care provider” means a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery,
osteopathic medicine and surgery, chiropractic, podiatry, nursing, dentistry, optometry, or
as a physician assistant, dental hygienist, or acupuncturist.
14. “HIV” means HIV as defined in section 141A.1.
15. “Hospital” means hospital as defined in section 135B.1.
16. “Isolation” means the separation of persons or animals presumably or actually
infected with a communicable disease or who are disease carriers for the usual period of
communicability of that disease in such places, marked by placards if necessary, and under
such conditions as will prevent the direct or indirect conveyance of the infectious agent or
contagion to susceptible persons.
17. “Local board” means the local board of health.
18. “Local department” means the local health department.
19. “Placard” means a warning sign to be erected and displayed on the periphery of a
quarantine area, forbidding entry to or exit from the area.
20. “Public health disaster” means public health disaster as defined in section 135.140.
21. “Quarantinabledisease”meansanycommunicablediseasedesignatedbyruleadopted
by the department as requiring quarantine or isolation to prevent its spread.
22. “Quarantine” means the limitation of freedom of movement of persons or animals that
have been exposed to a quarantinable disease within specified limits marked by placards for
a period of time equal to the longest usual incubation period of the disease in such manner
as to prevent the spread of a quarantinable disease which affects people.
23. “Reportabledisease”meansanydiseasedesignatedbyruleadoptedbythedepartment
requiring its occurrence to be reported to an appropriate authority.
24. “Sexually transmitted disease or infection” means a disease or infection as identified
by rules adopted by the department, based upon a determination by the state epidemiologist
and in accordance with guidelines of the centers for disease control and prevention of the
United States department of health and human services.
25. “Significant exposure” means a situation in which there is a risk of contracting disease
throughexposuretoaperson’sinfectiousbodilyfluidsinamannercapableoftransmittingan
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infectiousagentasdeterminedbythecentersfordiseasecontrolandpreventionoftheUnited
States department of health and human services and adopted by rule of the department.
26. “Terminal cleaning” means cleaning procedures defined in the isolation guidelines
issued by the centers for disease control and prevention of the United States department of
health and human services.