What health professionals should notify National Public Health Service (NPHS) of

The Health Act 1956 lists which diseases require notification to the NPHS, and in some cases the local authority.

The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 requires healthcare professionals to notify NPHS of anyone suffering from hazardous substance poisoning or injury, or from chemical contamination of the environment, such as pesticide poisoning.

Health Act 1956 Schedule 1 Infectious diseases — New Zealand Legislation (external link)

Health Act 1956 Schedule 2 Diseases notifiable to medical officer of health (other than notifiable infectious diseases) — New Zealand Legislation (external link)

Section 143 Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 — New Zealand Legislation (external link)

Te Matau a Māui Hawke's Bay notifications

Communicable disease and hazardous substance notifications

Communicable disease and hazardous substance notifications

Notifiable disease notification form - Hawke's Bay [DOC, 204 KB]

Email the form to Public Health

PSOComms.Diseases@hbdhb.govt.nz

Call the on-call Medical Officer of Health if there are any unusual circumstances

Call the on-call Medical Officer of Health on 06 834 1815 if there are any unusual circumstances that require discussion such as:

  • community concern
  • media interest
  • increased public risk.

Report urgent diseases straight away

If the disease is on the urgent disease notification list send a notification straight away — do not wait for laboratory confirmation. Also call:

Overnight notifications can be made in exceptional circumstances if you think immediate public health action or intervention is required.

Urgent disease notification list

Urgent disease notification list
  • Acute gastroenteritis — Only if you suspect an outbreak, a person has suspected or confirmed chemical or toxic food poisoning, or a case is at high risk of infecting others such as a food handler who will not stand down from work duties.
  • Anthrax
  • Avian influenza — highly pathogenic
  • Botulism
  • Cholera
  • Cronobacter species
  • Diphtheria
  • Haemophilus influenzae B invasive disease
  • Hepatitis A
  • Hepatitis B — acute illness only
  • Measles
  • Meningoencephalitis — primary amoebic
  • MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome)
  • Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
  • Neisseria meningitidis invasive disease (meningococcal disease)
  • Plague
  • Poisoning arising from chemical contamination of the environment, including from algal blooms
  • Poliomyelitis
  • Rabies and other lyssaviruses
  • SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)
  • Tetanus
  • Toxic shellfish poisoning
  • Typhoid and paratyphoid
  • Vero-toxin or shiga-like toxin producing escherichia coli
  • Viral haemorrhagic fevers such as ebola
  • Outbreak of any disease

Aged-residential care outbreak notifications

Aged-residential care outbreak notifications

Contact Public Health on 0800 266 020 if you need support and assistance with managing an outbreak in an aged-residential care facility.

Early childhood centre outbreak notifications

Early childhood centre outbreak notifications

Contact Public Health on 0800 266 020 if you need support and assistance with managing an outbreak in an early childhood centre.

Manawatū-Whanganui notifications

Manawatū-Whanganui notifications

Manawatū-Whanganui notifications

Contact the Manawatū-Whanganui public health team to let them know of a communicable disease or hazardous substance injury or poisoning.

Palmerston North

Whanganui

Urgent notifications and emergencies

In emergencies call 06 350 9110 and the on-call Health Protection Officer will be paged.

Greater Wellington notifications

Communicable disease notifications

Communicable disease notifications

Send a completed notification form by either:

Forms should be sent within 2 working days.

Measles notification form [PDF, 200 KB]

Health practitioner notice of notifiable disease form [PDF, 312 KB]

Pertussis (whooping cough) notification to Public Health form [PDF, 302 KB]

Urgent disease notifications

If the disease is on the urgent disease notification list send a notification straight away — do not wait for laboratory confirmation.

  • During work hours call 04 570 9267
  • After work hours call the on-call Medical Officer of Health on 04 570 9007

Make sure you have relevant case details available when calling.

  • Patient's occupation.
  • Place of work, school, or preschool.
  • Date of illness onset.
  • Recent countries visited and date of arrival in New Zealand.
  • Whether the patient has been informed that they have a notifiable disease.
  • Vaccination status, if relevant.
  • Suspected source of infection, for example functions attended.

Urgent disease notification list

Urgent disease notification list
  • Acute gastroenteritis — only if you suspect an outbreak, a person has suspected or confirmed chemical or toxic food poisoning, or a case is at high risk of infecting others such as a food handler who will not stand down from work duties.
  • Amnesic shellfish poisoning
  • Anthrax
  • Avian influenza (highly pathogenic)
  • Botulism
  • Cholera
  • Diarrhoeic shellfish poisoning
  • Diphtheria
  • Ebola
  • Haemophilus influenzae type b (invasive disease)
  • Hepatitis A — notification must include a faxed copy of serology confirming acute hepatitis and LFTs
  • Hepatitis B (acute disease only) — notification must include a faxed copy of serology confirming acute hepatitis and LFTs
  • Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)
  • Lassa fever (viral haemorrhagic fever)
  • Marburg virus disease
  • Measles — Notify on suspicion and send confirmatory serology (IgM) for measles/mumps/rubella or nasopharyngeal swab result for measles or pertussis to RPH when available.
  • Meningococcal disease
  • Meningoencephalitis — primary amoebic
  • Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
  • Neisseria meningitidis invasive disease or conjunctivitis
  • Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning
  • Non-seasonal influenza (capable of person to person transmission)
  • Paralytic shellfish poisoning
  • Paratyphoid fever
  • Plague
  • Poliomyelitis
  • Rabies and other lyssaviruses
  • Scombroid
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
  • Shiga toxin producing or verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC/VTEC) infection
  • Shigellosis
  • Toxic shellfish poisoning - unspecified
  • Tuberculosis: new case, relapse or reactivation
  • Typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever
  • Verotoxigenic or Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (VTEC/STEC) infection
  • Viral haemorrhagic fevers
  • Yellow fever
  • Zika

Hazardous substance injury or poisoning notifications

Hazardous substance injury or poisoning notifications

Use the electronic reporting system on BPAC (available on Medtech32, My Practice, and Profile for Windows) under 'Hazardous Substances & Lead Notifications' on the dashboard.

Hazardous substances disease and Injury reporting tool via BPAC guide for general practitioners [PDF, 385 KB]

If you do not have access to BPAC, fax a completed Hazardous substances disease and injury reporting form to 04 570 9373.

Hazardous substances disease and injury reporting form [PDF, 784 KB]

Aged-residential care facility gastro or respiratory outbreak notifications

Aged-residential care facility gastro or respiratory outbreak notifications

Complete the notification form when you suspect you have a gastro or respiratory illness outbreak at your aged-residential care facility in Greater Wellington.

A gastro outbreak is when there are 2 or more cases of acute gastroenteritis in your facility:

  • in a 48-hour period, or
  • linked to a common source such as a specific meal or event.

A respiratory outbreak is when there are:

  • 3 or more cases in a 48-hour period, or
  • 4 cases in 7 days.

Aged-residential care facility gastro or respiratory outbreak notifications — Greater Wellington (external link)

School gastro or respiratory outbreak notifications

School gastro or respiratory outbreak notifications

Complete the notification form when you suspect you have a gastro or respiratory illness outbreak at your school in Greater Wellington.

An outbreak is when 15% or more of our school are unwell — this includes staff and students.

School gastro or respiratory outbreak notifications — Greater Wellington (external link)

Early childhood centre gastro or respiratory outbreak notifications

Early childhood centre gastro or respiratory outbreak notifications

Complete the notification form when you suspect you have a gastro or respiratory illness outbreak at your early childhood centre in Greater Wellington.

An outbreak is when either of the following are true:

  • 3 or more cases, including staff and tamariki, in one area have similar symptoms
  • 15% of the early learning service, including staff and tamariki, are unwell.

Early learning service gastro or respiratory outbreak notifications — Greater Wellington (external link)

Sexually transmitted infection notifications

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that require notification are:

  • AIDS and HIV
  • gonorrhoea
  • syphilis.

Health professionals should notify ESR of these diseases.

How to report a notifiable disease — ESR (external link)

Enteric disease exclusion and clearance criteria

Check exclusion and clearance criteria for infectious enteric diseases, including recommended periods of exclusion from work, school or early childcare centres.

Appendix 2: Enteric disease