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There were 4,014 notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) for this four week period, 1 April to 28 April 1998 (Tables 1, 2 and 3). The numbers of reports for selected diseases have been compared with historical data for corresponding periods in the previous three years (Figure 11). NNDSS is conducted under the auspices of the Communicable Diseases Network Australia New Zealand. The system coordinates the national surveillance of more than 40 communicable diseases or disease groups endorsed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Notifications of these diseases are made to State and Territory health authorities under the provisions of their respective public health legislation. De-identified core unit data are supplied fortnightly for collation, analysis and dissemination. For further information, see Commun Dis Intell 1998;22:4-5.

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Table 1. Notifications of rare¹ diseases received by State and Territory health authorities in the period 1 to 28 April 1998

Disease2	Total this period	Reporting States or Territories	Total notifications 1998
Brucellosis	2	Qld	15
Cholera			2
Hydatid infection	2	Qld, Tas	11
Leprosy			1

1. Fewer than 60 cases of each of these diseases were notified each year during the period 1988 to 1998.
2. No notifications have been received during 1998 for the following rare diseases: botulism, lymphogranuloma venereum, plague, rabies, yellow fever, or other viral haemorrhagic fevers.

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Table 2. Notifications of diseases preventable by vaccines recommended by the NHMRC for routine childhood immunisation, received by State and Territory health authorities in the period 1 to 28 April 1998

Disease1,2	ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA	This period 1998	This period 1997	Year to date 1998	Year to date 1997
Diphtheria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
H. Influenzae type b infection	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	15
Measles	0	11	0	3	0	2	17	4	37	26	162	145
Mumps	0	1	0	6	0	0	4	2	13	17	59	63
Pertussis	6	136	3	72	54	3	29	14	317	428	2,492	2,689
Rubella3	4	0	0	19	2	1	5	3	34	87	189	540
Tetanus	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3

NN. Not Notifiable
1. No notifications of poliomyelitis have been reported since 1986.
2. Totals comprise data from all States and Territories. Cumulative figures are subject to retrospective revision, so there may be discrepancies between the number of new notifications and the increment in the cumulative figure from the previous period.
3. Includes congenital rubella

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Table 3. Notifications of other diseases received by State and Territory health authorities in the period 1 to 28 April 1998

Disease1,2	ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA	This period 1998	This period 1997	Year to date 1998	Year to date 1997
Arbovirus infection (NEC)3	0	0	4	8	0	0	1	0	13	22	38	78
Barmah Forest virus infection	0	5	-	45	0	0	2	1	53	89	228	326
Campylobacteriosis4	44	-	9	258	77	12	17	93	510	834	2,721	3,817
Chlamydial infection (NEC)5	24	NN	78	313	0	16	107	105	643	674	2,880	2,680
Dengue	0	3	1	35	0	0	0	5	44	76	226	177
Donovanosis	0	NN	1	0	NN	0	0	0	1	2	14	10
Gonococcal infection6	0	34	107	135	0	0	81	63	420	397	1,652	1,246
Hepatitis A	9	56	2	91	7	2	10	10	187	175	986	1,334
Hepatitis B incident	0	2	0	11	0	1	0	0	14	19	54	77
Hepatitis C incident7	0	0	0	-	0	1	-	-	1	2	15	4
Hepatitis C unspecified	13	NN	19	302	NN	13	3	50	400	677	1,729	2,780
Hepatitis (NEC)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	NN	1	3	7	10
Legionellosis	0	2	0	7	3	0	9	2	23	18	78	56
Leptospirosis	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	5	12	45	42
Listeriosis	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	3	14	21	38
Malaria	5	7	0	0	0	0	14	2	28	70	186	234
Meningococcal infection	0	9	1	3	0	1	3	4	21	41	70	104
Ornithosis	0	NN	0	0	0	0	3	0	3	0	8	22
Q fever	0	16	0	25	1	0	0	0	42	34	156	172
Ross River virus infection	0	23	10	373	3	0	2	14	425	1,364	1,544	4,213
Salmonellosis (NEC)	8	83	39	249	75	5	88	49	596	1,176	2,967	3,347
Shigellosis4	2	-	10	11	4	0	5	6	38	79	231	335
Syphilis8	2	21	15	29	0	1	0	2	70	85	370	423
Tuberculosis	2	16	0	4	2	1	18	4	47	78	268	342
Typhoid9	0	2	0	0	1	0	2	0	5	9	34	36
Yersiniosis (NEC)4	0	-	1	12	2	0	1	0	16	15	100	114

1. For HIV and AIDS, see Tables 6 and 7. For rarely notified diseases, see Table 1.
2. Totals comprise data from all States and Territories. Cumulative figures are subject to retrospective revision so there may be discrepancies between the number of new notifications and the increment in the cumulative figure from the previous period.
3. NT: includes Barmah Forest virus.
4. Not reported for NSW because it is only notifiable as 'foodborne disease' or 'gastroenteritis in an institution'.
5. WA: genital only.
6. NT, Qld, SA and Vic: includes gonococcal neonatal ophthalmia.
7. Qld, Vic and WA incident cases of Hepatitis C are not separately reported.
8. Includes congenital syphilis
9. NSW, Qld, Vic: includes paratyphoid.
NN Not Notifiable.
NEC Not Elsewhere Classified
- Elsewhere Classified.

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Figure 11. Selected National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance reports, and historical data¹

1. The historical data are the averages of the number of notifications in the corresponding 4 week periods of the last 3 years and the 2 week periods immediately preceding and following those.

These tables were published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Vol 22 No 5, 14 May 1998.