The Georgia Department of Public Health has announced that neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) surveillance is now a notifiable disease to Georgia DPH, which requires by law that all observances/identification of NAS be reported to the GA DPH, effective January 1st.
NAS is categorized as the abrupt discontinuation of fetal exposure to substances that were abused by the mother during pregnancy. Criteria for NAS reporting include:
- A baby born to a mother with a history of substance abuse during pregnancy,
- A newborn with withdrawal symptoms and, or
- A newborn with a positive drug screen
Reports should be submitted within 7 days of observance/identification. Cases can be electronically submitted through DPH’s secure web-based State Electronic Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (SendSS) at sendss.state.ga.us. For more information and details; visit: https://dph.georgia.gov/NAS