Disease Notification Procedures

Who Should Notify

Which Diseases to Notify

Reporting a Notifiable Disease during an Outbreak

How to Notify

List of Notifiable Medical Conditions

• The International Health Regulations, 2005 (IHR) and the National Health Act, 61 0f 2003 in South Africa require the rapid detection of notifiable medical conditions (NMC), as well as the prompt risk assessment, notification, verification and implementation of timely interventions
• NMCs are diseases that are of public health importance because they pose significant public health risks that can result in disease outbreaks or epidemics with high case fatality rates both nationally and internationally
• Identification of diseased persons and implementation of necessary public health actions to ensure that the disease is not spread to other people can control spread of infectious diseases within the population. Real-time surveillance and reporting NMCs provides an early warning signal and a window of opportunity to interrupt the disease transmission cycle

WHO SHOULD NOTIFY

• The first health care professional to come into contact with a patient presenting with one of the prescribed NMCs is required by law to notify
• This may include clinic personnel, infection control nurses, other hospital staff or private medical practitioners
• Any member of the community aware of or who reasonably suspects that a person in the community is a case or carrier must immediately report this to the nearest medical health establishment for reporting of the NMC

WHICH DISEASES TO NOTIFY

Notifiable medical conditions have been sub-divided into two categories according to type of disease:

Category 1 NMC

• Requires to be reported immediately using the most rapid means upon clinical or laboratory diagnosis followed by a written or electronic notification within 24 hours of diagnosis

Category 2 NMC

• Requires to be reported through a written or electronic notification, within 7 days of of clinical or laboratory diagnosis but preferably as soon as possible following diagnosis

REPORTING A NOTIFIABLE DISEASE DURING AN OUTBREAK

• During an outbreak of a notifiable disease, report all cases electronically or by phone, email or fax
• Daily reporting by health facilities should be maintained through an Outbreak Case Line Listing Form as well as through the notification form (GW17/5) to the local health authority that must report to the provincial health officials and the National Department of Health

HOW TO NOTIFY

Electronically:

• Electronic reporting via the NMC mobile or web based APP: 
  https://www.nicd.ac.za/nmc-overview/notification-process/

Paper-based:

• Complete the case-based form (GW 17/5)
• Send the NMC Case Notification Form to NMCsurveillanceReport@nicd.ac.za or fax to 086 639 1638 or NMC hotline 072 621 3805. Form(s) can be sent via SMS, whatsapp, email, fax
• Send a copy to the NMC focal person at Sub-District/District

Any person contracting a notifiable disease and then dies from the disease should be notified twice: first as a “CASE” and then later as a “DEATH”. This will ensure that when estimating the “Case Fatality Rate” (CFR%), all deaths in the numerator are also included in the denominator.

National NMC contact details:

• Helpline: 072 621 3805 
• Fax no: 086 639 1638 
• Sms/ Whatsapp line (for copy/photograph submissions): 072 621 3805
• Email address: NMCsurveillanceReport@nicd.ac.za

LIST OF NOTIFIABLE MEDICAL CONDITIONS

Category 1: Immediate notification (within 24 hours) of diagnosis

• Acute flaccid paralysis
• Acute rheumatic fever
• Anthrax
• Botulism
• Cholera
• Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19)
• Diphtheria
• Enteric fever (typhoid or paratyphoid fever)
• Food borne disease outbreak
• Haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) 
• Listeriosis
• Malaria
• Measles
• Meningococcal disease
• Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C)
• Pertussis 
• Plague 
• Poliomyelitis 
• Rabies (human)
• Respiratory disease caused by a novel respiratory pathogen
• Rift valley fever (human)
• Smallpox
• Viral haemorrhagic fever diseases
• Yellow fever

Category 2: Notification within seven days of diagnosis

• Agricultural or stock remedy poisoning
• Bilharzia (schistosomiasis)
• Brucellosis
• Congenital rubella syndrome
• Congenital syphilis
• Haemophilus influenzae type B
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• Hepatitis E
• Lead poisoning
• Legionellosis
• Leprosy
• Maternal death (pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium)
• Mercury poisoning
• Soil transmitted helminths 
• Tetanus
• Tuberculosis: pulmonary
• Tuberculosis: extra-pulmonary
• Tuberculosis: multidrug-resistant (MDR-TB)
• Tuberculosis: extensively drug-resistant (XDR-TB)

Standard Treatment Guidelines and Essential Medicines List for South Africa, Primary Healthcare Level, 2020 Edition