Notifications of gonococcal infection also continued to rise and have doubled since 1991, whilst notifications for syphilis increased slightly after falling steadily over recent years. Arbovirus infections of concern in 1998 were dengue outbreaks in Far North Queensland and the first case of Japanese Encephalitis for mainland Australia, highlighting the importance of surveillance of arboviruses and vectors for their detection and management. Introduction Surveillance of communicable diseases is an important public health activity. It allows the detection of outbreaks and the appropriate investigation and control measures to be instigated. It also allows for the monitoring of baseline trends and considers the impact and effectiveness of interventions to control the spread of diseases.
Surveillance systems exist at national, state and local levels.
State and local surveillance systems are crucial to the timely and effective detection and management of outbreaks and in assisting in the effective implementation of national policies. The national surveillance system combines some of the data collected from State and Territory-based systems to provide an overview at a national level. It also assists in quarantine activities and facilitates agreed international collaborations such as reporting to the World Health Organization. This is achieved through the national collation of notifications of these diseases received by health authorities in the States and Territories. At present the list of notifiable diseases and categories is undergoing review and revision.