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Australian national notifiable diseases case definitions

Australian national notifiable diseases and case definitions

The Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) has agreed that the following list of communicable diseases are to be notified nationally and provided to the Commonwealth’s National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). CDNA has developed the Surveillance Case Definitions available on this page.

Prepared by Communicable Diseases Network Australia

Published by Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing

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PDF printable version of Surveillance Case Definitions for the Australian National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System:1 January 2004 to 1 January 2011 (PDF 462 KB)

Disease list A - Z (click on the disease link for the case definition)

A | B | C | D | E-F-G-H | I-J-K-L | M | N-O-P-Q | R | S | T | U-V-W-X-Y-Z

Case definitions foreword | Case definition appendices (including state or territory notifable diseases)

These data kept in the NNDSS provide a basis for developing public health policy, and identifying and responding to communicable disease outbreaks of national significance,.  The following list of communicable diseases to be notified nationally was endorsed by CDNA in September 2003 and by Health Ministers on 18 April 2008 as part of the National Health Security Agreement 2008.

Laboratory definitions developed by the Public Health Laboratory Network are also available for some diseases.

National Surveillance Case Definitions for the Australian National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Foreword

A working group of CDNA was convened in 2001 to revise and develop standard surveillance case definitions for all nationally notifiable diseases for reporting to the NNDSS.  The surveillance case definitions were progressively developed through a consensus approach over a number of years. The Case Definitions Working Group currently comprises members representing all jurisdictions and the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, the Public Health Laboratory Network, OzFoodNet, the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance and other communicable disease experts. Laboratory case definitions previously developed by the Public Health Laboratory Network formed the basis for the surveillance case definitions, with clinical and epidemiological elements added, as appropriate.

Australian national notifiable diseases

Click on the links for each disease for the case definition

CDNA national surveillance case definition				PHLN laboratory case definition
Disease name	Status	Last review date by CDWG	CDNA implementation date
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)		2004	2004
Anthrax		2004	2004	Anthrax
Arbovirus infection - not elsewhere classified	Pending review by CDWG	2004	2004	Alphavirus and flavivirus
Australian bat lyssavirus		2004	2004	Australian bat lyssavirus infection
Barmah Forest virus infection	Pending review by CDWG	2004	2004	Alphavirus and flavivirus
Botulism		2004	2004	Botulism
Brucellosis	Endorsed by CDNA with change	29 Jun 2010	7 Jul 2010	Brucellosis
Top of page Campylobacteriosis		2004	2004	Campylobacter
Chlamydial infection	Pending review by CDWG	17 Oct 2008	2004	Chlamydia
Cholera	Endorsed by CDWG with no change	14 Aug 2008	2004	Cholera
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)	Endorsed by CDNA with changes	November 2009	16 December 2009
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease - variant (vCJD)	Endorsed by CDNA with changes	November 2009	16 December 2009
Cryptosporidiosis		2004	2004	Cryptosporidiosis
Dengue virus infection	Pending review by CDWG	2004	2004	Alphavirus and flavivirus
Diphtheria		2004	2004	Diphtheria
Donovanosis		2004	2004	Donovanosis
Gonococcal infection		2004	2004	Gonorrhoea
Haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS)		2004	2004
Haemophilus influenzae serotype b (Hib) (invasive only)		2004	2004
Hepatitis A		2004	2004
Hepatitis B newly acquired		2004	2004
Hepatitis B unspecified		2004	2004
Hepatitis C newly acquired	Pending review by CDWG	2004	2004
Hepatitis C unspecified	Pending review by CDWG	2004	2004
Hepatitis D		2004	2004
Hepatitis E	Pending review by CDWG	14 Aug 2008	2004
Hepatitis (not elsewhere classified)		2004	2004
Highly pathogenic avian influenza in humans (HPAIH)
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection - individuals less than 18 months of age		2004	2004
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection - newly acquired	Pending endorsement by CDNA	14 Aug 2008	2004
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection - unspecified individuals over 18 months of age		2004	2004
Top of page Influenza (laboratory-confirmed)		24 Feb 2010	29 Oct 2008	Influenza
Japanese encephalitis virus infection	Endorsed by CDNA with change	4 Nov 2009	12 May 2010	Alphavirus and flavivirus
Legionellosis		2004	2004	Legionella
Leprosy (Hansen's disease)		2004	2004
Leptospiriosis	Pending review by CDWG	2004	2004	Leptospirosis
Listeriosis		2004	2004	Listeria
Lyssavirus (not elsewhere classified)		2004	2004
Malaria		2004	2004	Malaria
Measles	Pending review by CDWG	2004	2004	Measles
Meningococcal infection (invasive)	Endorsed by CDNA with change	14 Aug 2008	30 Sept 2009	Meningococcal infections
Mumps	Pending review by CDWG	2004	2004
Murray Valley encephalitis virus infection	Endorsed by CDNA with change	4 Nov 2009	12 May 2010
Ornithosis		2004	2004
Pertussis (whooping cough)	Pending review by CDWG	2004	2004	Pertussis
Plague		2004	2004	Plague
Pneumococcal disease (invasive)		2004	2004	Pneumococcal disease (invasive)
Poliomyelitis (paralytic and non-paralytic infection)	Endorsed by CDNA with change	1 December 2010	1 July 2011	Poliovirus
Q fever		2004	2004	Q fever
Rabies		2004	2004
Ross River virus infection	Pending review by CDWG	2004	2004	Alphavirus and flavivirus
Rubella	Pending review by CDWG	2004	2004	Rubella
Rubella (congenital)		2004	2004	Rubella (congenital)
Top of page Salmonellosis		2004	2004	Salmonella
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)	Pending review by CDWG	14 Aug 2008	2004
Shiga toxin- and verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC/VTEC)		2004	2004	Shiga-like toxigenic Escherichia coli
Shigellosis		2004	2004	Shigellosis
Smallpox		2004	2004	Smallpox
Syphilis (congenital)	Endorsed by CDNA with change	6 December 2009	1 January 2011	Syphilis
Syphilis (infectious (primary, secondary and early latent), less than 2 years duration)	Endorsed by CDNA with change	6 December 2009	1 January 2011	Syphilis
Syphilis (more than 2 years or unknown duration)	Endorsed by CDNA with change	6 December 2009	1 January 2011	Syphilis
Tetanus		2004	2004	Tetanus
Tuberculosis	Endorsed by CDNA with change	7 April 2010	1 January 2011	Tuberculosis
Tularaemia	Endorsed by CDNA with change	29 Oct 2008	29 Oct 2008	Tularaemia
Typhoid		2004	2004
Varicella zoster (chickenpox)	Endorsed by CDWG with no change	14 Aug 2008	14 Aug 2008
Varicella zoster (shingles)	Endorsed by CDWG with no change	14 Aug 2008	14 Aug 2008
Varicella zoster (unspecified)	Endorsed by CDWG with no change	14 Aug 2008	14 Aug 2008
Viral haemorrhagic fevers (quarantinable)		2004	2004
West Nile/Kunjin virus infection	Endorsed by CDNA with change	4 Nov 2009	12 May 2010	Alphavirus and flavivirus
Yellow fever	Pending review by CDWG	2004	2004

Diseases pending national notifiable status

CDNA national surveillance case definition			PHLN laboratory case definition	PHLN last review date
Disease name	Status	Last review date
Chikungunya	Endorsed by CDNA	12 May 2010
Rotavirus	Pending review by CDWG		Rotavirus

 

Top of page

Case definitions appendices

Appendix A - National notifiable diseases sorted according to disease type

Appendix B - Non-national notifiable diseases in Australia's States and Territories

Appendix C - Notice regarding detection of IgGs

Appendix D - Epidemiological linkage

Appendix E - National Health Security Agreement

Appendix F - National Health Security (National Notifiable Disease List) Instrument 2008