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About IDPH

Diseases and Conditions

  • Infectious Diseases The mission of the Division of Infectious Diseases is to protect people from infectious diseases through disease surveillance, analysis, immunization, and education. The Division is organized into the sections of Communicable Diseases, HIV/AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and Immunization. Several of these sections work together on Viral Hepatitis initiatives. To learn
  • Infectious Respiratory Disease Infectious diseases are caused by germs - viruses, bacteria, or other pathogenic microbes. Germs that can infect the respiratory system - lungs, throat, airways - can often be spread through mucus and saliva (also known as "respiratory secretions") expelled when a person coughs, sneezes, talks or laughs
  • Cancer The Division of Epidemiologic Studies conducted an assessment to determine if there is elevated cancer incidence in the population surrounding the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook, Illinois. The study's results, when taken as a whole, indicated that some cancers were elevated in populations living near the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook. Many apparent differences and
  • Arthritis What is arthritis? The term arthritis refers to about 120 different diseases that can affect the joints, muscles and other soft tissues. The three most common forms are osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease, is the most common type of arthritis, affecting an estimated 21 million adults in this country.
  • Diabetes Diabetes is a serious chronic disease that poses a major health problem. Nearly 30.3 million people in the United States (9.4% of the population) have diabetes. About one-third of these people do not know they have diabetes. Each year, 1.5 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed. In Illinois, approximately 1.3 million (12.5% of the population) adults have diabetes, but
  • Heart & Stroke Diseases of the Heart and Stroke: Illinois’ Leading Killers Heart disease and stroke are, respectively, the first and third leading causes of death, and also the major causes of disability in Illinois. In 2017 there were 25,393 deaths in Illinois due to heart disease and 6,021 deaths due to stroke. Deaths due heart disease and stroke combined (31,414) represent almost 29
  • Asthma What is asthma? Asthma is a condition that affects the airways. It makes it hard to breathe because the airways become swollen, produce too much mucus and the muscles around the airways tighten. Asthma can range from mild to severe and can be life threatening. It is recognized that in some families, inherited factors play a role in an individual's risk for asthma. If a parent,
  • Diseases A-Z List An alphabetical listing of common diseases and conditions, both chronic and infectious, that affect the everyday lives of Illinois residents.
  • HIV/AIDS HIV remains a serious infectious disease in the world and here in Illinois. The good news is that there has been a great advance in knowledge and the development of effective tools to prevent infections and to prolong and improve quality of life for persons living with HIV. These next few pages provide information that begins with HIV education, testing, care, and support
  • Viral Hepatitis Hepatitis is defined as an inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis is commonly caused by a virus. The most common types are Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C. There are two other types, Hepatitis D and Hepatitis E, which are more common in other countries. To learn more about Hepatitis, see the Resources section. For data and statistics specific to Hepatitis, see IQuery
  • Mpox Illinois MPV cases include all probable and confirmed cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) numbers may not match due to differences in reporting timeframes. All numbers displayed are provisional and subject to change.
  • Outbreaks Outbreaks, investigations, disease concerns, and increased activity that include cases in Illinois, or have a wide impact in Illinois.