Context
The statutory notification of infectious diseases has been a crucial health protection measure in the United Kingdom (U.K.) since the late 19th century. The purpose of notification is to enable the prompt investigation, risk assessment and response to cases of infectious disease and contamination (such as with chemicals or radiation) that present, or could present, a significant risk to human health1. This module explains the guidance on notification requirements of registered medical practitioners (RMPs).
RMPs have a statutory duty to notify the proper officer at their local health protection team (HPT) of suspected cases of certain infectious diseases under the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010. The list of which can be found on the government website. Emergency Departments (EDs) are an important reporting source for notifiable diseases, so it is vital to improve awareness on reporting responsibilities among Emergency Medicine (EM) clinicians and make the reporting process clear. This module aims to put the notification process in context of the wider public health implications and hopes to improve awareness and reporting practices among EM clinicians.
Table 1 Diseases notifiable to local authority proper officers under the Health Protection Regulations 2010
| DISEASE | Whether likely to be routine or urgent |
| Acute encephalitis | Routine |
| Acute meningitis | Urgent if suspected bacterial infection, otherwise routine |
| Acute poliomyelitis | Urgent |
| Acute infectious hepatitis (A,B, C) | Urgent |
| Anthrax | Urgent |
| Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) or Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) | Urgent |
| Botulism | Urgent |
| Brucellosis | Routine, urgent if UK acquired |
| Chickenpox (varicella) | Routine |
| Cholera | Urgent |
| Congenital syphilis | Routine |
| COVID-19 | Routine |
| Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) | Routine |
| Diphtheria | Urgent |
| Disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI) | Routine |
| Enteric fever (typhoid, parathyphoid) | Urgent |
| Food poisoning | Routine, urgent if cluster or part or outbreak |
| Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome | Urgent |
| Infectious bloody diarrhoea | Urgent |
| Influenza of zoonotic origin | Urgent |
| Invasive group A streptococcal disease | Urgent |
| Scarlett fever | Routine |
| Legionnaires disease | Urgent |
| Leprosy | Routine |
| Malaria | Routine, urgent if UK acquired |
| Measles | Urgent |
| Meningococcal septicaemia | Urgent |
| Mumps | Routine |
| Neonatal herpes | Routine |
| Plague | Urgent |
| Rabies | Urgent |
| Rubella | Routine |
| SARS | Urgent |
| Smallpox | Urgent |
| Tetanus | Routine, urgent if associated with injecting drugs |
| Tuberculosis | Routine, urgent if healthcare worker, suspected cluster or multi drug resistant |
| Typhus | Routine |
| Viral haemorrhagic fever | Urgent |
| Whooping cough | Urgent if diagnose din acute phase, routine if diagnosed later |
| Yellow fever | Urgent if UK acquired |
Case may be urgent if:
- Its part of a current outbreak
- The suspected disease is uncommon in the UK
- The suspected disease spreads easily, or its spread is hard to control
- The patient is high risk, for example because of their age or job
If you are not sure if the case is urgent, telephone your local UKHSA health protection team.
Report other diseases that may present significant risk to human health under the category other significant disease examples of these are:
- Chemical exposure e.g. Carbon monoxide, lead, mercury
- Radiation exposure
- New and emerging infections (e.g. new strains of influenza)
- Cases that occur as part of an outbreak/ cluster e.g. (clostridium difficile, norovirus)
- Other infections where vulnerable contacts are at risk: e.g. infection in a healthcare worker, varicella zoster exposure in pregnant or immunocompromised persons
Learning bite
This list is not exhaustive. If in doubt, please telephone your local HPT.