The UK statutory notification system for infectious diseases is a system whereby doctors are required to notify the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (CDSC) if they are presented with a case of a serious infectious disease such as diphtheria or measles. The main purpose of the system is the detection and intervention in possible epidemics. Å·An epidemic is generally a widespread disease that affects many individuals in a population. ...

History of the statutory notification system

The statutory requirement for the notification of certain infectious diseases first came into being in London in 1891. Cholera, diphtheria, smallpox and typhoid had to be reported by the head of the family or the landlord to the local authority. The system spread to the rest of England and Wales in 1899. St Stevens Tower - The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben London (see also different names) is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Distribution of cholera Cholera (also called Asiatic cholera) is an infectious disease of the gastrointestinal tract caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacterium. ... Smallpox (also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera) is a highly contagious disease unique to humans. ... This is about the disease typhoid fever. ... 1899 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Originally, disease statistics were collected from the local authorities by the Registrar General's Office, where national statistics were already collected on births, marriages and deaths. This office was later known as the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and is now called the Office of National Statistics. In 1997, however, the responsibility for administering the system was transferred to the CDSC. 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The system today

The main concern of the modern system is speed in detecting possible outbreaks, and accuracy of diagnosis is only secondary. Since 1968 clinical suspicion of a notifiable infection is all that is required to report a case of a disease. The attending doctor must notify the proper officers, who are usually consultants in communicable disease control. These consultants are required to inform the CDSC on a weekly basis of each case of a disease that has been notified. The CDSC collates these reports and publishes its analysis of local and national trends. 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

The list of notifiable diseases now stands at 30, including leprosy, which must be reported directly to the director of the CDSC. During the 2002-3 outbreak, SARS was added to the list as a 31st. Father Damien was a Roman Catholic missionary who helped lepers on Hawaii and also died of the disease. ... Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is an atypical form of pneumonia. ...

Selected notifiable diseases:

• Anthrax
• Cholera
• Dysentery
• Food poisoning
• Malaria
• Measles
• Meningitis
• Mumps
• Plague
• Polio
• Rabies
• Rubella
• Scarlet fever
• Smallpox
• Tetanus
• Tuberculosis
• Typhoid fever
• Typhus fever
• Viral hepatitis
• Whooping cough

Distribution of cholera Cholera (also called Asiatic cholera) is an infectious disease of the gastrointestinal tract caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacterium. ... Dysentery is a severe diarrhea illness often associated with blood in the feces. ... Foodborne illness or food poisoning is caused by consuming food contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, toxins, viruses, prions or parasites. ... Red blood cell infected with Malaria (Italian: bad air; formerly called ague or marsh fever in English) is an infectious disease which in humans causes about 350-500 million infections and over 1 million deaths annually, mainly in the tropics and sub-Saharan Africa. ... Inferior view of a brain with meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae. ... Plague redirects here. ... Poliomyelitis (polio), or infantile paralysis, is a viral paralytic disease. ... Rubella (also known as epidemic roseola, German measles or three-day measles) is a disease caused by the Rubella virus. ... Smallpox (also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera) is a highly contagious disease unique to humans. ... Tetanus is a serious and often fatal disease caused by the exotoxin tetanospasmin which is produced by the Gram-positive, anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani. ... Tuberculous lungs show up on an X-ray image Tuberculosis is an infection with the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (miliary TB), genitourinary system, bones and joints. ... This is about the disease typhoid fever. ... This is about the disease Typhus. ... Hepatitis is a gastroenterological disease, featuring inflammation of the liver. ...

See also

• List of notifiable diseases includes other countries
• Notification system describes general notification systems

Diseases which must, by law, be reported to governmental authorities by medical practitioners are called notifiable diseases or reportable diseases. ... // Introduction A modern notification system is a combination of software and hardware that provides a means of delivering a message to a set of recipients. ...

External links

• The complete list of notifiable infections