Communicable disease

The notification process Common communicable diseases Communicable disease notification bulletins Notifiable diseases Communicable diseases are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in all communities. Public health action can prevent, limit and control communicable diseases, through health protection and health promotion programmes, including surveillance, prevention, investigation of cases and outbreaks, and control to prevent further spread.

As part of the national surveillance programme, certain communicable diseases are notifiable (see Notifiable Diseases Regulations) by medical practitioners to the public health medicine specialists under the Health Act 1956. The notification process is listed below.

The notification process

Medical practitioners are required by law to notify the public health medicine specialist of cases of disease as specified in the Notifiable Diseases Regulations under the Health Act 1956.

Notification is made to the Health Protection Unit:

During office Hours (8am – 4.30pm)

• Waikato Hospital - Extensions 2065 or 2020
• In Hamilton (07) 838 2569 - Extensions 2065 or 2020
• From outside Hamilton 0800 800 977
• Fax (07) 838 2382

After hours and weekends

Please ring Waikato Hospital operators and ask for the public health medicine specialist (urgent cases only please).

The notifier calls the Health Protection Unit and provides information for each case, including:

• demographic details (name, date of birth, gender, contact details)
• key dates including date of onset of illness
• information regarding the clinical disease and action taken.

It is important to note the occupation of cases especially where food handling, childcare and health care work are involved.

For children, attendance at pre-school care, school and immunisation status are important. This is required for exclusion and follow up purposes. Additionally occupational exposure maybe responsible for the case’s illness.

As not all notified diseases are routinely followed up, the following valuable information is requested:

• food history and food premises visited, and particularly where food safety issues are identified e.g. meal served cold
• drinking water supply, particularly high risk sources e.g. roof collected rainwater
• animal contact, particularly contact with sick animals.

On identification of such risk factors referrals are made to either health protection officers or environmental health officers for follow up, if the notification is not already being investigated.

This information helps to identify patterns, trends, emerging illnesses and the effectiveness of prevention programmes. Additionally, this information is used to identify a source of illness, particularly when a premise is identified as high risk e.g. an early childcare centre, food premise or a workplace.

Information is entered into a national database to allow for local, regional and national surveillance.

Contact tracing

Where appropriate information regarding possible contacts is also required. Contacts may include those who are household members, have close personal contact with the case or share personal items with the case. Contacts may be traced where education, preventive action and care can be offered.

Contacts are traced to investigate possible sources of disease, as well as possible cases of illness acquired from a known case. Preventive measures include; isolation of cases, strict personal hygiene, prophylaxis with antibiotics or immunoglobulin and exclusion from work or school/pre-school.

Education

The health protection unit is involved in health education and health promotion. This includes information regarding a specific disease, awareness of signs and symptoms, seeking treatment early and how spread of the disease can be prevented.

Resources are available from the Waikato DHB Education Resource Centre, selected resources are given below.

• NZ Ministry of Health
• World Health Organisation (WHO)

Common communicable diseases

• Campylobacter
• Cholera
• Cryptosporidium
• Giardia
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• Legionella
• Leptospira
• Meningococcal Disease
• Rubella
• Salmonella
• Tuberculosis (TB)
• VTEC (Verotoxic-Genic E Coli)
• Whooping Cough

Communicable disease notification bulletins

January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009

back to top

Notifiable diseases

Exclusion and Stool Clearance Criteria - A guide for cases and contacts of food and waterborne illness

Diseases notifiable in New Zealand (include suspected cases)*
Notifiable infectious diseases under the Health Act 1956
Section A – Infectious diseases notifiable to a Public Health Medicine Specialist and Local Authority
Acute gastroenteritis**	Campylobacteriosis
Cholera	Cryptosporidiosis
Giardiasis	Hepatitis A
Legionellosis	Listeriosis
Meningoencephalitis – primary amoebic	Salmonellosis
Shigellosis	Typhoid and paratyphoid fever
Yersiniosis
Section B – Infectious diseases notifiable to a Public Health Medicine Specialist
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)	Anthrax
Arboviral diseases	Brucellosis
Creutzfelt Jakob Disease and other spongiform encephalopathics	Diphtheria
Enterobacter sakazakii invasive disease	Haemophilus influenzae b
Hepatitis B	Hepatitis C
Hepatitis (viral) - not otherwise stated	HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza)
Hydatid disease	Leprosy
Leptospirosis	Malaria
Measles	Mumps
Neisseria meningitidis invasive disease	Pertussis
Plague	Poliomyelitis
Rabies	Rheumatic fever
Rickettial diseases	Rubella
SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)	Tetanus
Viral haemorrhagic fevers	Yellow fever
Diseases notifiable to Public Health Medicine Specialist (other than notifiable infectious diseases)
Notifiable to a Public Health Medicine Specialist
Cysticercosis
Decompression sickness
Taeniasis
Trichinosis
Lead absorption equal to or in excess of 15µg/dl (0.72µ mol/l) ***
Poisoning arising from chemical contamination of the environment.
Notifiable diseases under Tuberculosis Act 1948
Notifiable to a Medical Officer of Health
Tuberculosis (all forms)
* During times of increased incidence practitioners may be requested to notify their local public health medicine specialist of cases of other communicable disease not on this list.
** Not every case of acute gastroenteritis is necessarily notifiable – only those where there is a suspected common source or from a person in a high risk category, (eg food handler, child care worker, etc) or single cases of chemical, bacterial, or toxic food poisoning such as botulism, toxic shellfish poisoning (any type) and disease caused by verocytotoxic E. coli.
*** Blood lead levels to be reported to the public health medicine specialist (15µg/dl (0.72µ mol/l) are for environmental exposure. Where occupational exposure is suspected, please notify OSH through NODS network (Updated July 2005).