Communicable Diseases Surveillance - Additional reports

This report published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 24, No 11, November 2000 contains an analysis and tables of monthly notifiable diseases and laboratory data, and quarterly surveillance reports.

Page last updated: 15 December 2000

A print friendly PDF version is available from this Communicable Diseases Intelligence issue's table of contents.


Australian encephalitis: Sentinel Chicken Surveillance Programme

Sentinel chicken flocks are used to monitor flavivirus activity in Australia. The main viruses of concern are Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) and Kunjin which cause the potentially fatal disease Australian encephalitis in humans. Currently 29 flocks are maintained in the north of Western Australia, seven in the Northern Territory, nine in New South Wales and ten in Victoria. The flocks in Western Australia and the Northern Territory are tested year round but those in New South Wales and Victoria are tested only from November to March, during the main risk season.

Results are coordinated by the Arbovirus Laboratory in Perth and reported bimonthly. For more information and details of the locations of chicken flocks see Commun Dis Intell 2000;24:8-9.

A K Broom,1 J S Mackenzie,2 L Melville,3 D W Smith4 and P I Whelan5

1. Department of Microbiology, The University of Western Australia
2. Department of Microbiology, The University of Queensland
3. Berrimah Agricultural Research Centre, Northern Territory
4. PathCentre, Western Australia
5. Territory Health Services, Northern Territory


Sentinel chicken serology was carried out for 23 of the 29 flocks in Western Australia in September and October 2000. Only a single seroconversion to Murray Valley Encephalitis (MVE) virus was detected in the Kimberley region during this period. In early September one chicken seroconverted to MVE virus in the flock located in the Bidyadanga Aboriginal community, south of Broome. In the Pilbara region there were five seroconversions to MVE virus in September and all occurred in the first half of the month. One seroconversion was detected in both Karratha and Exmouth and three as yet unconfirmed seroconversions were detected in Onslow. There was no evidence of flavivirus activity in Western Australia in October.

Serum samples from six of the seven Northern Territory sentinel chicken flocks were tested in our laboratory in September and October 2000. One new seroconversion to MVE virus was detected in October at Beatrice Hill Farm, east of Darwin, but this has not yet been confirmed.

HIV and AIDS Surveillance

National surveillance for HIV disease is coordinated by the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (NCHECR), in collaboration with State and Territory health authorities and the Commonwealth of Australia. Cases of HIV infection are notified to the National HIV Database on the first occasion of diagnosis in Australia, by either the diagnosing laboratory (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria) or by a combination of laboratory and doctor sources (Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia). Cases of AIDS are notified through the State and Territory health authorities to the National AIDS Registry. Diagnoses of both HIV infection and AIDS are notified with the person's date of birth and name code, to minimise duplicate notifications while maintaining confidentiality.

Tabulations of diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS are based on data available three months after the end of the reporting interval indicated, to allow for reporting delay and to incorporate newly available information. More detailed information on diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS is published in the quarterly Australian HIV Surveillance Report, and annually in HIV/AIDS and related diseases in Australia Annual Surveillance Report. The reports are available from the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, 376 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010. Internet: http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/nchecr. Telephone: (02) 9332 4648. Facsimile: (02) 9332 1837.

HIV and AIDS diagnoses and deaths following AIDS reported for 1 to 30 June 2000, as reported to 30 September 2000, are included in this issue of Commun Dis Intell (Tables 7 and 8).

Table 7. New diagnoses of HIV infection, new diagnoses of AIDS and deaths following AIDS occurring in the period 1 June to 30 June 2000, by sex and State or Territory of diagnosis

  ACT NSW NT Qld SA Tas Vic WA Totals for Australia
This period 2000 This period 1999 Year to date 2000 Year to date 1999
HIV diagnoses Female
0
2
0
0
0
0
2
0
4
5
39
34
Male
0
19
0
11
1
0
17
3
51
35
318
307
Sex not reported
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total1
0
22
0
11
1
0
19
3
56
40
359
341
AIDS diagnoses Female
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
9
7
Male
0
4
0
1
0
1
4
1
11
7
89
71
Total1
0
4
0
1
0
1
5
1
12
8
98
78
AIDS deaths Female
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
2
Male
0
6
0
0
0
0
2
0
8
8
43
53
Total1
0
6
0
0
0
0
2
0
8
8
47
56

1. Persons whose sex was reported as transgender are included in the totals.



Table 8. Cumulative diagnoses of HIV infection, AIDS and deaths following AIDS since the introduction of HIV antibody testing to 30 June 2000, by sex and State or Territory

  State or Territory Australia
ACT NSW NT Qld SA Tas Vic WA
HIV diagnoses Female
28
613
9
158
61
5
220
119
1,213
Male
225
11,060
108
2,026
681
78
3,945
928
19,051
Sex not reported
0
246
0
0
0
0
24
0
270
Total1
253
11,940
117
2,191
742
83
4,203
1,051
20,580
AIDS diagnoses Female
9
188
0
49
25
3
71
26
371
Male
87
4,683
35
830
347
45
1,645
356
8,028
Total1
96
4,883
35
881
372
48
1,724
384
8,423
AIDS deaths Female
4
113
0
32
15
2
49
17
232
Male
66
3,192
24
570
231
29
1,279
250
5,641
Total1
70
3,313
24
604
246
31
1,334
268
5,890

1. Persons whose sex was reported as transgender are included in the totals.


This article was published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 24, No 11, November 2000.

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