1887
Perspective Open Access
Like 0

Abstract

Mandatory notification can be a useful tool to support infectious disease prevention and control. Guidelines are needed to help policymakers decide whether mandatory notification of an infectious disease is appropriate. We developed a decision aid, based on a range of criteria previously used in the Netherlands or in other regions to help decide whether to make a disease notifiable. Criteria were categorised as being effective, feasible and necessary with regard to the relevance of mandatory notification. Expert panels piloted the decision aid. Here we illustrate its use for three diseases (infection chronic Q fever and dengue fever) for which mandatory notification was requested. For dengue fever, the expert panel advised mandatory notification; for infection and chronic Q fever, the expert panel concluded that mandatory notification was not (yet) justified. Use of the decision aid led to a structured, transparent decision making process and a thorough assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of mandatory notification of these diseases. It also helped identify knowledge gaps that required further research before a decision could be made. We therefore recommend use of this aid for public health policy making.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2015.20.34.30003
2015-08-27
2024-11-25
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2015.20.34.30003
Loading
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/eurosurveillance/20/34/eurosurv-20-30003-3.html?itemId=/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2015.20.34.30003&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Thacker SB, Berkelman RL. Public health surveillance in the United States. Epidemiol Rev. 1988;10:164-90. PMID: 3066626 
  2. Weinberg J. Surveillance and control of infectious diseases at local, national and international levels. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2005;11(Suppl 1):12-4.
  3. M'ikanatha NM, Lynfield R, Van Beneden CA, de Valk H. Infectious Disease Surveillance. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing; 2007.
  4. Hartgerink MJ. Health surveillance and planning for health care in the Netherlands. Int J Epidemiol. 1976;5(1):87-91. Available from:  https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/5.1.87  PMID: 770354 
  5. McCormick A. The notification of infectious diseases in England and Wales. Commun Dis Rep CDR Rev. 1993;3(2):R19-25. PMID: 7693140 
  6. World Health Organization (WHO). International Health Regulations. Second Edition. Geneva: WHO; 2005. Available from: http://www.who.int/ihr/publications/9789241596664/en/
  7. European Commission. Decision No. 2119/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 1998 setting up a network for the epidemiological surveillance and control of communicable diseases in the Community. Official Journal of the European Union. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. 3.10.1998:L 268. Available from: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31998D2119:EN:HTML.
  8. van Vliet JA, Timen A, Haringhuizen GB. Meldingsplicht infectieziekten in wet publieke gezondheid. [Notification of infectious diseases via the Dutch Public Health act]. Bilthoven: Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu; 2006. Dutch.
  9. Bijkerk P. Melden van infectieziekten conform de Wet publieke gezondheid (2008). [Notification of infectious diseases via the Dutch Public Health act (2008)]. Bilthoven: Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu; 2008. Dutch. Available from: http://www.rivm.nl/Documenten_en_publicaties/Wetenschappelijk/Rapporten/2008/november/Melden_van_infectieziekten_conform_de_Wet_publieke_gezondheid_2008
  10. van Vliet JA, Haringhuizen GB, Timen A, Bijkerk P. [Changes in the duty of notification of infectious diseases via the Dutch Public Health Act]. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2009;153:B79. Dutch. PMID: 19818190 
  11. Balabanova Y, Gilsdorf A, Buda S, Burger R, Eckmanns T, Gärtner B, et al. Communicable diseases prioritized for surveillance and epidemiological research: results of a standardized prioritization procedure in Germany, 2011. PLoS ONE. 2011;6(10):e25691. Available from:  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0025691  PMID: 21991334 
  12. Carter AOCenters for Disease Control (CDC). Setting priorities: the Canadian experience in communicable disease surveillance. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1992;41(Suppl):79-84. PMID: 1344268 
  13. Doherty JA. Establishing priorities for national communicable disease surveillance. Can J Infect Dis. 2000;11(1):21-4. PMID: 18159260 
  14. Dute JC, van Wijngaarden JK. [Communicable diseases law: new legislation for infectious disease control]. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 1999;143(20):1049-53. PMID: 10368733 
  15. Gezondheidsraad. De toekomst van het Rijksvaccinatieprogramma: naar een programma voor alle leeftijden. [The future of the national immunisation programme: towards a programme for all age groups]. Den Haag: Gezondheidsraad; 2007. Dutch. Available from: http://www.gezondheidsraad.nl/sites/default/files/200702n.pdf
  16. van der Giessen JWB, van de Giessen AW, Braks MAH. Emerging zoonoses: Early warning and surveillance in the Netherlands. Bilthoven: Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu; 2010. Available from: http://www.rivm.nl/Documenten_en_publicaties/Wetenschappelijk/Rapporten/2010/juni/Emerging_zoonoses_Early_warning_and_surveillance_in_the_Netherlands
  17. Dute JC. De wetgeving ter bestrijding van infectieziekten. [Legislation for infectious disease control]. Nijmegen: Ars Aequi Libri; 1994. Dutch. Available from: http://www.abebooks.com/Wetgeving-ter-bestrijding-infectieziekten-Dute-J.C/6243599170/bd
  18. Roest HI, Tilburg JJ, van der Hoek W, Vellema P, van Zijderveld FG, Klaassen CH, et al. The Q fever epidemic in The Netherlands: history, onset, response and reflection. Epidemiol Infect. 2011;139(1):1-12. Available from:  https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268810002268  PMID: 20920383 
  19. Cañigral I, Moreno Y, Alonso JL, González A, Ferrús MA. Detection of Vibrio vulnificus in seafood, seawater and wastewater samples from a Mediterranean coastal area. Microbiol Res. 2010;165(8):657-64.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micres.2009.11.012  PMID: 20106642 
  20. Oliver JD. Wound infections caused by Vibrio vulnificus and other marine bacteria. Epidemiol Infect. 2005;133(3):383-91. Available from:  https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268805003894  PMID: 15962544 
  21. Dijkstra A, Haenen OL, Möller AV. [Zoonotic bacterium: duty to notify advisable]. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2011;155:A2320. PMID: 21262025 
  22. Dijkstra A, van Ingen J, Lubbert PH, Haenen OL, Möller AV. [Necrotizing fasciitis resulting from infection with at an eel hatchery]. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2009;153:408-11.
  23. Cox R, Sanchez J, Revie CW. Multi-criteria decision analysis tools for prioritising emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases associated with climate change in Canada. PLoS ONE. 2013;8(8):e68338.
  24. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Best practices in ranking emerging infectious disease threats: a literature review. Stockholm: ECDC; 2015. Available from: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications/_layouts/forms/Publication_DispForm.aspx?List=4f55ad51-4aed-4d32-b960-af70113dbb90&ID=1259
  25. Havelaar AH, van Rosse F, Bucura C, Toetenel MA, Haagsma JA, Kurowicka D, et al. Prioritizing emerging zoonoses in the Netherlands. PLoS ONE. 2010;5(11):e13965.http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013965 PMID: 21085625 
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2015.20.34.30003
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Submit comment
Close
Comment moderation successfully completed
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error