Fortnight 07: 22 March to 04 April 2014

The Communicable Diseases Network Australia holds fortnightly teleconferences to share and evaluate the latest information and developments in communicable diseases surveillance. This report provides a fortnightly summary on diseases of current interest and notifications of Australia's nationally notifiable diseases.

Page last updated: 10 April 2014

Fortnight 07: 22 March to 04 April 2014

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Measles

There have been 12 cases of measles notified this reporting period from Qld (5), NSW (4), and one each from Vic, SA and WA. The number of cases has decreased this reporting period compared with last fortnight. The median age is 21, the age range is 0-64.

Of the 180 cases notified YTD:

  • 63% of cases were either imported from overseas or were import-related, with the majority related to the Philippines;
  • Some of the import-related cases (n=10) have been linked to a multijurisdictional outbreak associated with an imported case from the Philippines who attended a dance competition in Sydney in early December 2013; and
  • Of the remaining 37% of cases, a link to an imported case has either not been established or is still under investigation.

Influenza (laboratory confirmed)

In this reporting period there were 588 confirmed influenza notifications with the majority being type A (84%). Type B accounted for 15% of notifications. Of the type A cases, 74% were not subtyped. Of the subtyped cases, 101 were reported as (H1N1)pdm09. Almost half of the notifications for this period were from Queensland (231).

National notifications fell by approximately two thirds during the six weeks which followed the 2013 winter influenza season peak in notifications at the end of August. Since that time however, all jurisdictions have reported higher than usual numbers of influenza notifications. In recent years, summer influenza notification activity has increased from an average of 153 per week in 2011-2012 to 202 per week in 2012-2013 and 373 in per week in 2013-2014 with the majority of summer season influenza due to influenza A. The underlying causes of the rising trend in summer influenza is unknown. The Australian Government Department of Health continues to monitor influenza activity and will commence the fortnightly Australian Influenza Surveillance Report closer to the onset of the winter influenza season.

Arbovirus infection (NEC)

Between 22 March and 4 April 2014 there were eight notifications of arbovirus NEC in Australia, compared with two during the previous reporting period and two during the same period last year.

During the past 90 days, there were 12 notifications, a ratio of 3.5 compared with the quarterly rolling mean of 3.4 notifications.

Three notifications were for Zika virus infections imported to Queensland from the Cook Islands, one was for Kokobera in Queensland, one for an unspecified flavivirus in New South Wales. Three were listed as untyped, all notified by Queensland, and all with Fiji as the place of acquisition.

Interpretative Notes

Selected diseases are chosen each fortnight based on either exceeding two standard deviations from the 90 day and/or 365 day five year rolling mean or other disease issues of significance identified during the reporting period. All diseases reported are analysed by notification receive date. Data are extracted each Monday of a CDNA week.

Totals comprise data from all States and Territories. Cumulative figures are subject to retrospective revision so there may be discrepancies between the number of new notifications and the increment in the cumulative figure from the previous period.

  1. The past quarter (90 day) surveillance period includes the date range 5 January 2014 to 4 April 2014.
  2. The quarterly (90 day) five year rolling mean is the average of 5 intervals of 90 days up to 4 April 2014. The ratio is the notification activity in the past quarter (90 days) compared with the five year rolling mean for the same period.
  3. The past year (365 day) surveillance period includes the date range 5 April 2013 to 4 April 2014.
  4. The yearly (365 day) five year rolling mean is the average of 5 intervals of 365 days up to 4 April 2014. The ratio is the notification activity in the past year (365 days) compared with the five year rolling mean for the same period.

The five year rolling mean and the ratio of notifications compared with the five year rolling mean should be interpreted with caution. Changes in surveillance practice, diagnostic techniques and reporting may contribute to increases or decreases in the total notifications received over a five year period. Ratios are to be taken as a crude measure of current disease activity and may reflect changes in reporting rather than changes in disease activity.

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Table of communicable disease notifications reported to the NNDSS for this fortnight

Please use the scroll bar located at the end of the table below to view all columns.

A copy of the table of communicable disease notifications for this fortnight is also included in the PDF printable version of the NNDSS report.

Notifications of Nationally Notifiable Diseases for the period 22/03/2014 to 04/04/2014

Footnotes:

Ratio of the 90 day prior surveillance period to the past 90 day 5 year rolling mean, or ratio of the 365 day prior surveillance period to the 365 day 5 year rolling mean.

NN = Not Notifiable, NDP = No Data Provided, NEC = Not Elsewhere Classified

Dates used are:

  • Past Quarter (90d prior surveillance period): 22/12/2013 to 21/03/2014
  • Quarterly rolling 5Yr Mean (90d 5Yr Mean):
  • Quarterly rolling 5Yr Mean (90d 5Yr Mean) 1: 22/12/2012 to 21/03/2013
  • Quarterly rolling 5Yr Mean (90d 5Yr Mean) 2: 23/12/2011 to 21/03/2012
  • Quarterly rolling 5Yr Mean (90d 5Yr Mean) 3: 22/12/2010 to 21/03/2011
  • Quarterly rolling 5Yr Mean (90d 5Yr Mean) 4: 22/12/2009 to 21/03/2010
  • Quarterly rolling 5Yr Mean (90d 5Yr Mean) 5: 22/12/2008 to 21/03/2009
  • Past year (365d prior surveillance period): 22/03/2013 to 21/03/2014
  • Yearly rolling 5Yr Mean (365d 5Yr Mean):
  • Yearly rolling 5Yr Mean (365d 5Yr Mean) 1: 22/03/2012 to 21/03/2013
  • Yearly rolling 5Yr Mean (365d 5Yr Mean) 2: 23/03/2011 to 21/03/2012
  • Yearly rolling 5Yr Mean (365d 5Yr Mean) 3: 22/03/2010 to 21/03/2011
  • Yearly rolling 5Yr Mean (365d 5Yr Mean) 4: 22/03/2009 to 21/03/2010
  • Yearly rolling 5Yr Mean (365d 5Yr Mean) 5: 22/03/2008 to 21/03/2009
  State or Territory Totals for Australia Historical 90 Day Period Historical 365 Day Period
Disease ACT NSW NT QLD SA TAS VIC WA This
Reporting
Period		 Previous
Reporting
Period		 Same
Reporting
Period
Last Year		 2014 YTD Past
Quarter		 Quarterly
Rolling
5 year
mean		 Ratio
Past
Quarter
/5 year
mean		 Exceeds
Quarterly
rolling
mean +2
SD by		 Past
Year		 Yearly
rolling
5 year
mean		 Ratio
Past
year
/5 year
mean		 Exceeds
Yearly
rolling
mean +2
SD by;
Bloodborne diseases
Hepatitis (NEC) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 0.0 0.0 -
Hepatitis B (newly acquired) 0 1 0 1 1 0 4 2 9 4 6 52 51 56.8 0.9 - 174 223.6 0.8 -
Hepatitis B (unspecified) 5 108 6 37 8 5 72 18 259 286 245 1,730 1,689 1,754.4 1.0 - 7,028 6,699.8 1.0 -
Hepatitis C (newly acquired) 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 1 7 10 18 109 106 105.8 1.0 - 400 412.4 1.0 -
Hepatitis C (unspecified) 8 167 10 133 17 14 104 43 496 385 331 2,684 2,624 2,673.4 1.0 - 10,466 10,447.0 1.0 -
Hepatitis D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 7 8.4 0.8 - 54 36.2 1.5 7.1
Gastrointestinal diseases
Botulism 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.4 0.0 - 3 0.8 3.8 0.5
Campylobacteriosis 16 NN 11 248 58 24 272 76 705 705 438 5,056 4,825 4,334.4 1.1 - 15,991 16,177.4 1.0 -
Cryptosporidiosis 3 19 4 41 8 1 31 21 128 145 316 902 868 1,392.0 0.6 - 3,119 2,781.4 1.1 -
Haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 9 4.2 2.1 1.8 17 16.8 1.0 -
Hepatitis A 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 4 12 4 87 85 67.4 1.3 - 209 280.0 0.7 -
Hepatitis E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 8 8 11.8 0.7 - 31 37.2 0.8 -
Listeriosis 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 3 2 21 21 27.8 0.8 - 68 79.2 0.9 -
STEC, VTEC 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 1 7 3 5 44 43 36.6 1.2 - 177 105.2 1.7 25.8
Salmonellosis 9 222 15 254 77 16 160 48 801 762 612 5,425 5,279 4,071.2 1.3 180.0 13,944 10,890.4 1.3 82.7
Shigellosis 1 8 0 9 0 0 13 2 33 59 16 342 335 176.4 1.9  92.5 727 587.4 1.2 -
Typhoid Fever 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 4 9 47 47 50.2 0.9 - 125 121.8 1.0 -
Quarantinable diseases
Cholera 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 0.8 2.5 - 5 4.6 1.1 -
HPAIH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 0.0 0.0 -
Plague 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 0.0 0.0 -
Rabies 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 0.0 0.0 -
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 0.0 0.0 -
Smallpox 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 0.0 0.0 -
Viral haemorrhagic fever (NEC) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 0.0 0.0 -
Yellow fever 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 1.0 0.0 -
Sexually transmissible infections
Chlamydial infection 48 947 58 901 170 58 750 473 3,405 3,471 2,789 23,153 22,670 19,814.2 1.1 - 84,492 73,089.2 1.2 -
Donovanosis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0.2 5.0 - 1 1.0 1.0 -
Gonococcal infection 6 197 43 137 24 3 105 96 611 613 482 4,406 4,286 2,985.8 1.4 - 15,848 10,696.2 1.5 -
Syphilis - congenital 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1.8 0.6 - 6 4.4 1.4 -
Syphilis < 2 years 0 6 1 10 1 0 14 3 35 52 55 397 385 363.4 1.1 - 1,713 1,339.0 1.3 25.0
Syphilis > 2 years or unspecified duration 0 5 0 6 7 1 35 2 56 68 57 427 417 347.4 1.2 - 1,716 1,363.2 1.3 271.9
Vaccine preventable diseases
Diphtheria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 2 0.8 2.5 -
Haemophilus influenzae type b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 3 4.0 0.8 - 20 19.0 1.1 -
Influenza (laboratory confirmed) 7 113 19 231 79 5 74 60 588 570 364 4,059 3,908 2,158.2 1.8 - 29,883 31,119.0 1.0 -
Measles 0 4 0 5 1 0 1 1 12 18 1 180 177 38.2 4.6  65.1 321 121.8 2.6 85.4
Mumps 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 3 6 6 63 62 46.2 1.3 - 204 168.4 1.2 -
Pertussis 8 53 2 50 12 6 105 41 277 327 372 2,520 2,446 7,531.4 0.3 - 11,124 28,833.2 0.4 -
Pneumococcal disease (invasive) 1 14 5 5 3 0 7 1 36 41 25 230 217 225.6 1.0 - 1,560 1,708.8 0.9 -
Poliomyelitis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 0.0 0.0 -
Rubella 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 11.2 0.5 - 32 39.2 0.8 -
Rubella Congenital 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 2 0.2 10.0 0.9
Tetanus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.8 0.0 - 2 4.0 0.5 -
Varicella zoster (Chickenpox)+ 5 NN 9 0 10 1 30 9 64 75 56 465 442 374.4 1.2 - 2,115 1,909.8 1.1 -
Varicella zoster (Shingles)+ 2 NN 6 0 47 3 42 31 131 186 167 1,323 1,267 968.6 1.3 - 5,051 3,462.4 1.5 -
Varicella zoster (Unspecified)+ 10 NN 0 230 45 11 126 66 488 454 325 3,080 2,948 1,920.2 1.5 583.8 10,653 7,169.8 1.5 865.7
Vectorborne diseases
Arbovirus infection (NEC) 0 1 0 7 0 0 0 0 8 2 2 13 12 3.4 3.5 5.3 28 11.8 2.4 5.3
Barmah Forest virus infection 0 9 1 27 0 0 0 2 39 38 263 358 350 748.2 0.5 - 3,203 1,841.4 1.7 344.8
Dengue virus infection 0 15 4 13 0 0 0 18 50 68 62 626 602 554.0 1.1 - 1,960 1,171.8 1.7 68.2
Japanese encephalitis virus infection 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 0.0 - 4 0.4 10.0 2.5
Kunjin virus infection 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.6 1.7 - 3 1.4 2.1 -
Malaria 0 3 1 1 1 0 2 2 10 12 18 93 91 111.2 0.8 - 372 444.6 0.8 -
Murray Valley encephalitis virus infection 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.8 0.0 - 1 4.6 0.2 -
Ross River virus infection 0 22 39 95 3 3 0 138 300 308 198 1,672 1,626 1,965.4 0.8 - 4,544 4,779.0 1.0 -
Zoonoses
Anthrax 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 0.0 - 0 0.2 0.0 -
Australian bat lyssavirus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 0.0 - 0 0.2 0.0 -
Brucellosis 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 7 7 7.4 0.9 - 23 32.0 0.7 -
Leptospirosis 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 23 23 50.4 0.5 - 104 137.4 0.8 -
Lyssavirus (NEC) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 0.0 0.0 -
Ornithosis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 9 9 14.8 0.6 - 50 77.6 0.6 -
Q fever 0 3 0 12 0 0 1 0 16 14 13 150 144 93.0 1.5  32.3 512 346.0 1.5 106.6
Tularaemia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 1.0 0.0 -
Other bacterial infections
Legionellosis 0 3 2 1 1 0 0 3 10 21 16 91 87 81.4 1.1 - 499 328.6 1.5 76.1
Leprosy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 1.2 2.5 - 14 8.2 1.7 2.0
Meningococcal disease (invasive) 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 3 6 7 27 26 43.4 0.6 - 137 247.2 0.6 -
Tuberculosis 1 15 0 9 2 0 21 9 57 29 40 324 309 317.4 1.0 - 1,259 1,322.8 1.0 -
Totals 130 1,936 236 2,471 583 152 1,980 1,169 8,657 8,768 7,328 60,236 58,525        229,996       

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