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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)

How to send a communicable disease notification

Send a communicable disease notification using:

  • your existing portal (secondary care services)
  • the eReferral system or CareConnect (primary care services).

Urgent disease notifications

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

Auckland

If you send an eReferral outside of office hours, call 09 623 4600 to inform the on-call Medical officer of health.

Northland

Call public health after sending an urgent disease notification.

  • During office hours 8am and 4:30pm Monday to Friday call 09 430 4101 extension 60592
  • Outside of office hours call 09 430 4100 and ask for the on-call Health protection officer.

Urgent disease notification list

Urgent disease notification list

  • Anthrax

  • Botulism

  • Cholera — if toxigenic strain

  • Diphtheria — if toxigenic strain

  • Enterobacter and cronobacter sakazakii

  • Fish poisoning and marine toxin poisoning, including ciguatera fish poisoning and scombroid poisoning

  • Haemophilus Influenzae type B — if probable or confirmed type B

  • Hepatitis A

  • Hepatitis E

  • Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

  • Ill traveller, such as diagnosed with a suspected notifiable disease upon arrival into New Zealand

  • Listeria (invasive)

  • Measles

  • Meningococcal disease

  • Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

  • Mumps

  • Nipah

  • Outbreak of any notifiable disease — an outbreak is defined as 2 or more cases linked to a common source

  • Paratyphoid

  • Pertussis

  • Plague

  • Poliomyelitis

  • Rabies and other lyssaviruses

  • Ricin poisoning

  • Rubella

  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

  • Shigella — culture positive and non-sonnei

  • Smallpox

  • Staphylococcal toxin poisoning

  • Tetanus

  • Typhoid

  • Viral gastroenteritis including norovirus — if 2 or more cases linked to the same source, there is a high-risk of onward transmission, or causative agent is non-infectious gastrointestinal intoxicants

  • Viral haemorrhagic fevers, such as ebola

Get help with your notification

Get help completing a communicable disease notification or urgent support.

In Auckland:

In Northland:

  • call 09 430 4101 extension 60592. Leave a message if you call after hours.

You no longer need to email a word document to notify public health in the Northern Region.

How to send a hazardous substance poisoning or injury notification

To notify public health of a hazardous substance poisoning or injury in:

Alternatively, you can send:

  • an eReferral using 'Reason for referral - General' and attach a completed case report form.
  • a completed case report form to notify@adhb.govt.nz

Secondary care services can use their patient management system portal to notify public health of hazardous substance injuries.

Case report form: Hazardous substance injury - Auckland and Northland [DOCX, 383 KB]

How to send a sexually transmitted infection notification

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)

More information on communicable disease and hazardous substance poisoning or injury notifications

Go to HealthPathways for more information on communicable disease and hazardous substance poisoning or injury notifications.

Community HealthPathways - Auckland (external link)

Community HealthPathways - Northland (external link)

Aged-residential care gastro outbreak notifications

You should notify public health if 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.

Completed the notification form if you are in Auckland or Northland.

Aged-residential care gastro outbreak notification form - Northern (external link)

Early learning centre gastro outbreak notifications

You should notify public health if there are 3 or more students or staff from a single area or room with gastroenteritis symptoms in your early learning service, Kōhanga Reo or language nest.

Auckland

Complete the notification form.

Early learning centre gastro outbreak notification form - Auckland (external link)

Northland

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