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There were 5,500 notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) with a notification date in April 2000 (Table 1). Data by date of report for weeks 13 to 17 ending 30 April 2000, are included in this issue of CDI (Table 2). The number of reports for selected diseases¹ have been compared with a 5 year mean, calculated using March to May data for the previous 5 years* (Figure 7).

There were 1,138 reports received by the Virology and Serology Laboratory Reporting Scheme (LabVISE) in the reporting period, 1 to 30 April 2000 (Tables 3 and 4).

The Australian Sentinel Practice Research Network (ASPREN) data for weeks 13 to 17, ending 30 April 2000, are included in this issue of CDI (Table 5).

Figure 7. Selected¹ diseases from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, comparison of provisional totals for the period 1 to 30 April 2000 with historical data²

1. Selected diseases are chosen each calendar month according to current activity
2. Ratio of current month total to mean of last 5 years as defined above

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Table 1. Notifications of diseases received by State and Territory health authorities in the period 1 to 30 April 2000, by date of notification

Disease	ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA	Total April 20001	Total March 20001	Total April 19991	Last 5 years mean	Year to date 2000	Last 5 years YTD mean	Ratio*
Bloodborne
Hepatitis B (incident)	1	6	1	1	1	0	0	3	13	27	24	24	91	99	0.5
Hepatitis B (unspecified)2	1	75	0	53	0	4	163	46	342	661	607	607	2,304	2,305	0.6
Hepatitis C (incident)	2	3	0	-	0	1	3	6	15	32	37	18	112	63	0.8
Hepatitis C (unspecified)2	10	372	6	230	42	16	440	102	1,218	1,983	1,745	1,315	7,082	5,161	0.9
Hepatitis D	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	3	3	2	2	6	6	1.5
Gastrointestinal diseases
Botulism	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.0
Campylobacterosis3	14	-	8	269	121	20	336	133	901	1,025	861	901	4,098	3,814	1.0
Haemolytic uraemic syndrome	NN	1	0	0	0	0	NN	0	1	3	1	2	6	3	0.5
Hepatitis A	0	11	3	8	8	0	15	20	65	82	112	186	376	910	0.3
Hepatitis E	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0.0
Listeriosis	0	1	0	2	1	0	1	2	7	8	3	5	32	26	1.4
Salmonellosis	4	55	19	154	37	12	82	81	444	711	741	715	2,503	3,149	0.6
Shigellosis3	1	-	13	14	1	1	4	10	44	41	63	62	172	273	0.7
SLTEC,VTEC4	NN	0	0	NN	3	0	0	NN	3	4	3	2	16	5	1.5
Typhoid	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	7	3	6	26	36	0.7
Yersiniosis3	0	-	0	3	0	0	1	0	4	12	10	19	33	102	0.2
Quarantinable diseases
Cholera	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	0.0
Plague	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	na
Rabies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	na
Viral haemorrhagic fever	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	na
Yellow Fever	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	na
Sexually transmissible diseases
Chancroid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0.0
Chlamydial infection5	28	127	67	298	53	19	250	142	984	1,412	1,242	851	4,864	3,300	1.2
Donovanosis	0	0	0	1	NN	0	0	0	1	1	1	3	7	17	0.3
Gonococcal infection6	1	38	93	79	12	1	69	92	385	536	517	423	1,905	1,613	0.9
Lymphogranuloma venereum	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.0
Syphilis7	0	24	6	65	0	0	0	3	98	169	169	149	531	577	0.7
Vaccine preventable diseases
Diphtheria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	na
Haemophilus influenzae type b	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	1	5	4	5	17	0.5
Measles	0	4	0	1	6	1	6	2	20	11	25	49	53	218	0.4
Mumps	0	4	0	0	0	0	1	3	8	18	23	14	57	53	0.6
Pertussis	5	54	0	21	8	12	24	0	124	208	205	331	1,019	1,698	0.4
Poliomyelitis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	na
Rubella8	0	1	0	7	0	0	7	0	15	11	26	102	61	495	0.1
Tetanus	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3	2	0.0
Vectorborne diseases
Arbovirus infection NEC	0	0	4	1	0	0	6	2	13	15	4	6	40	34	2.2
Barmah Forest virus infection	0	9	2	28	0	0	2	2	43	66	109	101	222	366	0.4
Dengue	0	1	10	2	0	0	0	1	14	33	7	13	167	85	1.1
Malaria	2	2	2	40	4	1	3	5	59	93	50	61	318	307	1.0
Ross River virus infection	1	85	15	139	38	2	52	90	422	748	804	854	2,378	3,512	0.5
Zoonoses
Brucellosis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	3	5	10	0.0
Hydatid infection	0	NN	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	5	2	3	14	10	0.7
Leptospirosis	0	1	0	10	0	0	0	0	11	37	56	22	78	77	0.5
Ornithosis	0	NN	0	NN	1	0	1	0	2	8	12	7	21	27	0.3
Q fever	0	4	0	32	0	0	3	0	39	60	37	46	182	165	0.8
Other
Legionellosis	0	6	0	2	3	2	108	3	124	28	22	20	207	78	6.2
Leprosy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0.0
Meningococcal infection	0	15	0	2	3	0	11	7	38	25	33	27	130	94	1.4
Tuberculosis	0	5	1	1	0	0	22	3	32	76	57	82	264	331	0.4
Total	70	908	250	1466	343	92	1,612	759	5,500	7,186	7,868	7,043	29,389	29,045

1. 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.
2. Unspecified numbers should be interpreted with some caution as the magnitude may be a reflection of the numbers of tests being carried out.
3. Not reported for NSW because it is only notifiable as 'foodborne disease' or 'gastroenteritis in an institution'.
4. Infections with Shiga-like toxin (verotoxin) producing E. coli (SLTEC/VTEC).
5. WA: genital only.
6. NT, Qld, SA, Vic and WA: includes gonococcal neonatal ophthalmia.
7. Includes congenital syphilis.
8. Includes congenital rubella
# Date of notification = a composite of three components: (i) the true onset date from a clinician, if available, (ii) the date the laboratory test was ordered, or (iii) the date reported to the public health unit.
NN Not Notifiable.
NEC Not Elsewhere Classified.
- Elsewhere Classified.
na Not applicable.
* Ratio = ratio of current month total to mean of last 5 years calculated as described above.

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Table 2. Notifications of diseases received by State and Territory health authorities for weeks 13 to 17, by date of report,* April 2000

Week number	13	14	15	16	17	Year to
Week ending on	2 April 2000	9 April 2000	16 April 2000	23 April 2000	30 April 2000	date total
Disease1
Bloodborne diseases
Hepatitis B (incident)	3	4	7	6	1	103
Hepatitis B (unspecified)2	137	131	134	108	80	2,533
Hepatitis C (incident)	13	8	6	6	2	128
Hepatitis C (unspecified)2	524	419	517	313	222	7,484
Hepatitis D	0	1	1	0	1	5
Gastrointestinal diseases
Botulism	0	0	0	0	0	0
Campylobacterosis3	227	231	257	187	214	4,166
Haemolytic uraemic syndrome	0	1	0	1	0	5
Hepatitis A	22	17	14	18	20	396
Hepatitis E	0	0	0	0	0	0
Listeriosis	3	4	1	1	2	31
Salmonellosis	169	144	149	103	88	2,587
Shigellosis3	16	4	5	11	13	164
SLTEC,VTEC4	1	0	1	0	0	17
Typhoid	3	0	1	1	1	30
Yersiniosis3	3	4	0	1	0	33
Quarantinable diseases
Cholera	0	0	0	0	0	1
Plague	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rabies	0	0	0	0	0	0
Viral haemorrhagic fever	0	0	0	0	0	0
Yellow Fever	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sexually transmissible diseases
Chancroid	0	0	0	0	0	0
Chlamydial infection5	338	267	350	270	218	5,027
Donovanosis	0	0	0	1	0	8
Gonococcal infection6	153	102	133	90	101	1,947
Lymphogranuloma venereum	0	0	0	0	0	0
Syphilis7	38	31	37	25	18	579
Vaccine preventable diseases
Diphtheria	0	0	0	0	0	0
Haemophilus influenzae type b	1	0	0	1	0	5
Measles	2	4	9	3	4	52
Mumps	3	7	4	4	0	61
Pertussis	53	45	44	55	19	1,228
Poliomyelitis	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rubella8	4	4	5	1	5	63
Tetanus	1	0	0	0	0	4
Vectorborne diseases
Arbovirus infection NEC	6	0	5	3	4	34
Barmah Forest virus infection	17	8	12	21	6	231
Dengue	7	1	9	4	8	173
Malaria	23	28	9	17	9	314
Ross River virus infection	172	164	157	145	93	2,444
Zoonoses
Brucellosis	0	0	1	1	0	6
Hydatid infection	2	0	1	1	0	14
Leptospirosis	9	6	7	9	4	86
Ornithosis	3	2	3	1	1	31
Q fever	19	13	11	14	4	195
Other
Legionellosis	5	7	7	8	49	154
Leprosy	0	0	0	0	0	0
Meningococcal infection	7	6	14	3	14	137
Tuberculosis	25	20	15	13	17	342
Total	2,009	1,683	1,926	1446	1218	30,818

1. 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.
2. Unspecified numbers should be interpreted with some caution as the magnitude may be a reflection of the numbers of tests being carried out.
3. Not reported for NSW because it is only notifiable as 'foodborne disease' or 'gastroenteritis in an institution'.
4. Infections with Shiga-like toxin (verotoxin) producing E. Coli (SLTEC/VTEC)
5. WA: genital only.
6. NT, Qld, SA, Vic and WA: includes gonococcal neonatal ophthalmia.
7. Includes congenital syphilis.
8. Includes congenital rubella
* Date of report is the date the public health unit received the report.
NN Not Notifiable.
NEC Not Elsewhere Classified.
- Elsewhere Classified.

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Table 3. Virology and serology laboratory reports by contributing laboratories for the reporting period 1 to 30 April 2000¹

State or Territory	Laboratory	This period	Total this period2
Australian Capital Territory	The Canberra Hospital	0	0
New South Wales	Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead	69	200
	New Children's Hospital, Westmead	62	67
	Repatriation General Hospital, Concord	0	0
	Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown	22	11
	South West Area Pathology Service, Liverpool	0	0
Queensland	Queensland Medical Laboratory, West End	366	333
	Townsville General Hospital	0	0
South Australia	Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, Adelaide	351	365
Tasmania	Northern Tasmanian Pathology Service, Launceston	7	12
	Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart	0	0
Victoria	Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne	0	3
	Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne	51	101
	Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Fairfield	161	238
Western Australia	PathCentre Virology, Perth	0	0
	Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth	49	0
	Western Diagnostic Pathology	0	0
Total		1,138	1,330

1. The complete list of laboratories reporting for the 12 months, January to December 2000, will appear in every report from January 2000 regardless of whether reports were received in this reporting period. Reports are not always received from all laboratories.
2. Total reports include both reports for the current period and outstanding reports to date.

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Table 4. Virology and serology laboratory reports by State or Territory¹ for the reporting period 1 to 30 April 2000, and total reports for the year²

	State or Territory1								This period 2000	This period 1999	Year to date 20003	Year to date 1999
	ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA
Measles, mumps, rubella
Measles virus	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	3	32	15	117
Mumps virus	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	6	22	21
Rubella virus	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	3	9	16	29
Hepatitis viruses
Hepatitis A virus	0	0	0	2	4	0	0	0	6	30	55	146
Hepatitis D virus	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	3
Arboviruses
Ross River virus	0	4	5	43	62	1	1	0	116	201	642	793
Barmah Forest virus	0	0	1	17	0	0	0	0	18	31	79	75
Flavivirus (unspecified)	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	3		34	16
Adenoviruses
Adenovirus type 3	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	4	10	12
Adenovirus type 37	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	1	3	8
Adenovirus not typed/pending	0	8	0	0	28	1	11	5	53	106	312	355
Herpes viruses
Cytomegalovirus	1	11	0	13	25	2	16	1	69	95	383	411
Varicella-zoster virus	1	4	0	25	17	1	9	0	57	126	458	559
Epstein-Barr virus	0	5	0	63	71	0	4	0	143	125	679	798
Other DNA viruses
Parvovirus	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	36	87	131
Picornavirus family
Echovirus type 7	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		3	1
Echovirus type 11	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	12	6	48
Echovirus type 30	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2		66	6
Poliovirus type 3 (uncharacterised)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	2
Rhinovirus (all types)	0	17	0	0	1	0	1	0	19	23	104	107
Enterovirus not typed/pending	0	3	0	6	0	0	115	0	124	62	406	258
Ortho/paramyxoviruses
Influenza A virus	2	1	0	1	28	0	1	0	33	44	213	160
Influenza B virus	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	6	15	31	43
Parainfluenza virus type 1	0	15	0	2	12	0	3	21	53	4	100	13
Parainfluenza virus type 2	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	4	24	10	36
Parainfluenza virus type 3	0	0	0	0	9	0	1	0	10	22	77	151
Respiratory syncytial virus	0	38	0	9	10	1	19	16	93	116	316	328
Other RNA viruses
Rotavirus	0	7	0	0	8	0	1	0	16	58	139	214
Norwalk agent	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	5	2	17
Other
Chlamydia trachomatis not typed	6	39	14	54	42	2	12	5	174	242	1,001	996
Chlamydia psittaci	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	15	26	28
Mycoplasma pneumoniae	0	0	1	14	11	0	1	0	27	84	175	368
Mycoplasma hominis	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		1	4
Rickettsia australis	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1		1	1
Streptococcus group A	0	2	5	20	0	0	0	0	27	2	136	2
Brucella species	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		4	2
Bordetella pertussis	0	2	0	3	5	0	3	0	13	26	178	197
Legionella pneumophila	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1		3	12
Legionella longbeachae	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	17	14
Legionella species	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1		1
Cryptococcus species	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	2	6
Leptospira species	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	5		14
Treponema pallidum	0	1	15	21	0	0	0	0	37	2	166	8
Toxoplasma gondii	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	4	4
Echinococcus granulosus	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	2		5
Total	10	165	41	304	351	11	208	48	1,138	1,564	6,006	6,500

1. State or Territory of postcode, if reported, otherwise State or Territory of reporting laboratory.
2. From January 2000 data presented are for reports with report dates in the current period. Previously reports included all data received in that period.
3. Totals comprise data from all laboratories. 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.
- No data received this period.

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Table 5. Australian Sentinel Practice Research Network reports, weeks 13 to 17, 2000

Week number	13		14		15
Week ending on	2 April 2000		9 April 2000		16 April 2000
Doctors reporting	72		73		77
Total encounters	9,119		9,272		9,691
Condition	Reports	Rate per 1,000 encounters	Reports	Rate per 1,000 encounters	Reports	Rate per 1,000 encounters
Influenza	34	3.7	34	3.7	42	4.3
Chickenpox	5	0.5	14	1.5	9	0.9
Gastroenteritis	68	7.5	92	9.9	92	9.5
Gastroenteritis with stool culture	12	1.3	17	1.8	17	1.8
ADT immunisations	66	7.2	50	5.4	51	5.3

Table 5. Australian Sentinel Practice Research Network reports, weeks 13 to 17, 2000, (continued)

Week number	16		17
Week ending on	23 April 2000		30 April 2000
Doctors reporting	70		64
Total encounters	7,617		5,834
Condition	Reports	Rate per 1,000 encounters	Reports	Rate per 1,000 encounters
Influenza	31	4.1	33	5.7
Chickenpox	9	1.2	14	2.4
Gastroenteritis	76	10.0	56	9.6
Gastroenteritis with stool culture	13	1.7	12	2.1
ADT immunisations	51	6.7	19	3.3

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 2000;24:6.

LabVISE is a sentinel reporting scheme. Currently 17 laboratories contribute data on the laboratory identification of viruses and other organisms. This number may change throughout the year. 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 2000;24:10.

ASPREN currently comprises about 120 general practitioners from throughout the country. Between 7,000 and 8,000 consultations are reported each week, with special attention to 14 conditions chosen for sentinel surveillance in 2000. CDI reports the consultation rates for five of these. For further information, including case definitions, see Commun Dis Intell 2000;24:7-8.


This article was published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 24, No 5, May 2000.