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There were 6,924 notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) in the four week period, 3 February to 2 March 1999 (Tables 1 and 2). The numbers of reports for selected diseases have been compared with historical data for corresponding periods in the previous three years (Figure 2).

There were 1,438 reports received by the Virology and Serology Laboratory Reporting Scheme (LabVISE) in the four week period, 28 January to 24 February 1999 (Tables 3 and 4).

The Australian Sentinel Practice Research Network (ASPREN) data for weeks 1 to 8, ending 28 February 1999, are included in this issue of CDI (Tables 5 and 6).

Table 1. Notifications of diseases preventable by vaccines recommended by the NHMRC for routine childhood immunisation, received by State and Territory health authorities in the period 3 February to 2 March 1999

Disease1,2	ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA	This period 1999	This period 1998	Year to date 1999	Year to date 1998
Diphtheria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
H. influenzae type b infection	0	2	1	1	0	0	0	1	5	2	9	3
Measles	2	6	0	0	0	2	12	3	25	34	38	71
Mumps	0	3	0	1	1	0	4	3	12	18	17	30
Pertussis	9	89	0	93	17	1	79	4	292	918	681	2,161
Rubella3	6	2	1	11	0	0	7	1	28	59	59	126
Tetanus	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2

NN. Not Notifiable
1. No notification of poliomyelitis has been received since 1978.
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 2. Notifications of diseases received by State and Territory health authorities in the period 3 February to 2 March 1999

Disease1,2,3,4	ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA	This period 1999	This period 1998	Year to date 1999	Year to date 19985
Arbovirus infection (NEC)	0	0	0	2	0	0	20	0	22	6	43	12
Barmah Forest virus infection	0	28	0	26	0	0	2	2	58	56	103	117
Botulism	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Brucellosis	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	3	12
Campylobacteriosis6	24	-	22	356	165	28	322	93	1,010	1,099	2,307	2,182
Chancroid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Chlamydial infection (NEC)7	4	NN	65	391	72	18	229	124	903	826	2,095	1,604
Cholera	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1
Dengue	1	0	2	44	0	0	0	0	47	60	109	79
Donovanosis	0	NN	0	2	NN	0	0	0	2	12	5	14
Gonococcal infection8	0	88	114	88	9	2	70	60	431	397	925	803
Haemolytic uraemic syndrome9	NN	4	NN	0	1	0	NN	0	5	0	6	1
Hepatitis A	1	57	3	65	14	0	12	13	165	304	331	576
Hepatitis B incident	1	5	1	11	0	0	4	5	27	20	58	44
Hepatitis B unspecified10	5	164	0	91	0	1	131	15	407	581	867	1,192
Hepatitis C incident	4	2	0	-	5	0	0	10	21	14	61	32
Hepatitis C unspecified5,10	13	411	21	290	82	25	508	78	1,428	1,830	3,122	3,633
Hepatitis (NEC)11	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	NN	1	0	1	4
Hydatid infection	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	1	5	8
Legionellosis	0	10	1	6	5	1	11	1	35	24	56	36
Leprosy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Leptospirosis	0	2	0	26	2	0	2	0	32	11	65	26
Listeriosis	0	1	0	1	0	0	2	0	4	3	10	13
Malaria	2	18	0	66	3	0	9	0	98	70	160	122
Meningococcal infection	0	7	0	2	1	0	1	5	16	16	63	37
Ornithosis	0	NN	0	0	0	0	4	1	5	2	13	5
Q fever	0	14	0	18	1	0	2	0	35	41	80	88
Ross River virus infection	1	114	37	323	13	2	114	32	636	267	1,117	524
Salmonellosis (NEC)	10	138	33	317	107	19	168	50	842	835	1,747	1,791
Shigellosis6	0	-	13	20	5	0	7	6	51	50	107	119
SLTEC, VTEC12	NN	0	NN	NN	2	0	NN	NN	2	1	7	3
Syphilis13	2	30	35	79	0	0	0	4	150	98	298	205
TTP14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tuberculosis	2	54	2	10	0	1	26	3	98	121	210	226
Typhoid15	0	2	0	0	2	0	1	2	7	13	12	26
Yersiniosis (NEC)6	0	-	0	12	2	0	0	3	17	30	42	72

1. Diseases preventable by routine childhood immunisation are presented in Table 1.
2. For HIV and AIDS, see Tables 7 and 8.
3. 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.
4. No notifications have been received during 1999 for the following rare diseases: lymphogranuloma venereum, plague, rabies, yellow fever, or other viral haemorrhagic fevers.
5. Data from Victoria for 1998 are incomplete.
6. Not reported for NSW because it is only notifiable as 'foodborne disease' or 'gastroenteritis in an institution'.
7. WA: genital only.
8. NT, Qld, SA and Vic: includes gonococcal neonatal ophthalmia.
9. Nationally reportable from August 1998.
10. Unspecified numbers should be interpreted with some caution as the magnitude may be a reflection of the numbers of testings being carried out.
11. Includes hepatitis D and E.
12. Infections with Shiga-like toxin (verotoxin) producing E. Coli (SLTEC/VTEC) became nationally reportable in August 1998.
13. Includes congenital syphilis.
14. Thrombotic thrombocytopaenic purpura became nationally reportable in August 1998.
15. NSW, Qld: includes paratyphoid.
NN Not Notifiable.
NEC Not Elsewhere Classified.
- Elsewhere Classified.

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Table 3. Virology and serology laboratory reports by State or Territory¹ for the reporting period 28 January to 24 February 1999, and total reports for the year

	State or Territory1								Total this period	Total reported in CDI in 1999
	ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA
Measles, mumps, rubella
Measles virus		1			1		1		3	10
Mumps virus							2	3	5	9
Rubella virus			1	4	1		1	1	8	16
Hepatitis viruses
Hepatitis A virus		3	3	25	3			8	42	88
Hepatitis D virus				1					1	1
Arboviruses
Ross River virus		6	25	127	11		12	10	191	314
Barmah Forest virus		1		7				2	10	22
Dengue type 3				2					2	22
Flavivirus (unspecified)				4			1		5	8
Adenoviruses
Adenovirus type 2							2		2	5
Adenovirus type 3							2		2	9
Adenovirus type 37							2		2	2
Adenovirus type 40								1	1	13
Adenovirus not typed/pending		10		6	13		25	8	62	295
Herpes viruses
Cytomegalovirus	1	14		31	34	1	25	3	109	249
Varicella-zoster virus		1	2	50	41		45	16	155	425
Epstein-Barr virus	2	22		79	88		22	18	231	621
Other DNA viruses
Molluscum contagiosum								1	1	2
Contagious pustular dermatitis (Orf virus)		1						1	2	5
Parvovirus		1		10	3	1	7	7	29	81
Picornavirus family
Coxsackievirus A16							2		2	2
Echovirus type 9		2							2	16
Echovirus type 11		4							4	19
Echovirus type 30		1							1	14
Poliovirus type 1 (uncharacterised)		1				1			2	4
Poliovirus type 2 (uncharacterised)		1							1	9
Rhinovirus (all types)		4			1		1	2	8	82
Enterovirus not typed/pending	1	3	2	1			5	21	33	148
Ortho/paramyxoviruses
Influenza A virus		1		2	21		8	1	33	169
Influenza A virus H3N2							1		1	1
Influenza B virus					2			3	5	20
Parainfluenza virus type 1				1					1	9
Parainfluenza virus type 2					2				2	7
Parainfluenza virus type 3				1	15		2	9	27	198
Respiratory syncytial virus		5		8	8		4	8	33	163
Other RNA viruses
Rotavirus		3			14		7	1	25	223
Norwalk agent							11		11	20
Other
Chlamydia trachomatis not typed		10	8	78	40		6	53	195	556
Chlamydia psittaci							8		8	17
Chlamydia species				1			1		2	2
Mycoplasma pneumoniae		11	1	25	26		37	5	105	312
Coxiella burnetii (Q fever)		2		16	1		1		20	31
Rickettsia spp - other								2	2	2
Bordetella pertussis		4		29			16		49	115
Legionella pneumophila					1				1	4
Legionella longbeachae					2				2	17
Total	4	112	42	508	328	3	257	184	1,438	4,357

1. State or Territory of postcode, if reported, otherwise State or Territory of reporting laboratory.

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Table 4. Virology and serology laboratory reports by contributing laboratories for the reporting period 28 January to 24 February 1999

State or Territory	Laboratory	Reports
New South Wales	Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead South West Area Pathology Service, Liverpool	26 69
Queensland	Queensland Medical Laboratory, West End Townsville General Hospital	552 15
South Australia	Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, Adelaide	328
Victoria	Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Fairfield	30 86 144
Western Australia	PathCentre Virology, Perth	188
Total		1,438

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Table 5. Australian Sentinel Practice Research Network reports, weeks 1 to 4, 1999

Week number	1		2		3		4
Week ending on	10 January 1999		17 January 1999		24 January 1999		31 January 1999
Doctors reporting	49		48		47		50
Total encounters	5,837		6,080		5,329		5,546
Condition	Reports	Rate per 1,000 encounters	Reports	Rate per 1,000 encounters	Reports	Rate per 1,000 encounters	Reports	Rate per 1,000 encounters
Influenza	3	0.5	7	1.2	4	0.8	1	0.2
Rubella	2	0.3	0	0.0	0	0.0	1	0.2
Measles	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0
Chickenpox	3	0.5	14	2.3	14	2.6	4	0.7
New diagnosis of asthma	10	1.7	9	1.5	7	1.3	4	0.7
Post operative wound sepsis	8	1.4	10	1.6	4	0.8	10	1.8
Gastroenteritis	55	9.4	60	9.9	45	8.4	49	8.8

Table 6. Australian Sentinel Practice Research Network reports, weeks 5 to 8, 1999

Week number	5		6		7		8
Week ending on	7 February 1999		14 February 1999		21 February 1999		28 February 1999
Doctors reporting	53		59		50		51
Total encounters	6,865		7,418		6,275		6,363
Condition	Reports	Rate per 1,000 encounters	Reports	Rate per 1,000 encounters	Reports	Rate per 1,000 encounters	Reports	Rate per 1,000 encounters
Influenza	8	1.2	3	0.4	13	2.1	20	3.1
Rubella	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0
Measles	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0
Chickenpox	8	1.2	5	0.7	9	1.4	9	1.4
New diagnosis of asthma	3	0.4	9	1.2	6	1.0	9	1.4
Post operative wound sepsis	6	0.9	17	2.3	12	1.9	8	1.3
Gastroenteritis	59	8.6	65	8.8	69	11.0	61	9.6

The 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 legislations. De-identified core unit data are supplied fortnightly for collation, analysis and dissemination. For further information, see Commun Dis Intell 1999;23:58.

LabVISE is a sentinel reporting scheme. Twenty-one laboratories contribute data on the laboratory identification of viruses and other organisms. Data are collated and published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence every four weeks. These data should be interpreted with caution as the number and type of reports received is subject to a number of biases. For further information, see Commun Dis Intell 1999;23:58.

ASPREN currently comprises about 100 general practitioners from throughout the country. Up to 9,000 consultations are reported each week, with special attention to 12 conditions chosen for sentinel surveillance in 1999. CDI reports the consultation rates for seven of these. For further information, including case definitions, see Commun Dis Intell 1999;23:55-56.


This article was published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 23, No 3, 18 March 1999.