Notifiable Diseases

Notifiable diseases
A list of diseases notifiable to the Medical Officer of Health

Date of publication on the web: July 2005 (Updated July 2009)

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Below is a link to the Health Act 1956 from the New Zealand Legislation website. A list of Notifiable Diseases is outlined in Schedules 1 and 2 of this Act:
Health Act 1956

Schedule of notifiable diseases

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Schedule of notifiable diseases Updated May 2009 (Word, 46 KB)
Schedule of notifiable diseases Updated May 2009 (PDF, 21 KB)

Related information

Communicable Diseases

Direct Laboratory Notification of Communicable Diseases: National Guidelines (Dec 2007)

Requirements for Vessels Arriving in New Zealand

E. sakazakii invasive disease became notifiable on 21 July 2005
Notification enables both identification of instances of Enterobacter sakazakii (E. sakazakii) invasive disease and consideration of the need for public health action. Notification of E. sakazakii was a recommendation of a report into the investigation of the death of a premature infant who had contracted the disease in 2004.

Statutes of New Zealand
This links to an electronic database of New Zealand Statutes. Notification of specified diseases is required under the Health Act 1956 (section 74). See the schedules at the back of the Act for the list of specified diseases. The Tuberculosis Act 1948 is relevant for notification of tuberculosis.

Both these Acts are under review, and it is hoped to combine and update them in a new Public Health Bill.
More information on proposals for the Public Health Bill and its process is available on the Ministry of Health website.

Page last updated 20 October 2007