Fortnight 20: 20 September to 03 October 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: 09 October 2014

Fortnight 20: 20 September to 03 October 2014

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Influenza (laboratory confirmed)

  • Across all jurisdictions, seasonal influenza activity has continued to decline following recent peaks in activity. In South Australia, where activity has plateaued for several weeks, there has been a decline in the most recent week.
  • Nationally influenza A is the predominant influenza virus type. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 continues to be the dominant circulating virus subtype in the Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria while in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory*, influenza A(H3N2) is the most common virus type. The proportion of influenza A(H3N2) has increased in recent weeks in Queensland and Western Australia where both strains now co-circulate in similar proportions. The usual, late season increase in influenza B infections has also been noted in recent weeks.
  • The influenza vaccine is likely to provide good coverage against the currently circulating viruses.
  • The severity of the 2014 influenza season appears to be moderate across most jurisdictions. However, more severe activity was noted in NSW, where influenza A(H3N2) circulated at higher levels and affected people in older age-groups, which has led to a substantial number of outbreaks in aged care facilities.
  • The WHO released its recommendations for the composition of the 2015 southern hemisphere influenza season vaccine which includes changes to the A(H3N2) and B vaccine strains.

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Interpretative Notes

* These subtyped ACT influenza cases have been reported as A(H3). Based on nationally available subtyping and charaterisation data, these cases are assumed to be A(H3N2).

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 06/07/2014 to 03/10/2014.
  2. The quarterly (90 day) five year rolling mean is the average of 5 intervals of 90 days up to 03/102014. 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 04/10/2013 to 03/10/2014.
  4. The yearly (365 day) five year rolling mean is the average of 5 intervals of 365 days up to 03/10/2014. 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 20/09/2014 to 03/10/2014

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): 06/07/2014 to 03/10/2014
  • Quarterly rolling 5Yr Mean (90d 5Yr Mean):
  • Quarterly rolling 5Yr Mean (90d 5Yr Mean) 1: 06/07/2013 to 03/10/2013
  • Quarterly rolling 5Yr Mean (90d 5Yr Mean) 2: 06/07/2012 to 03/10/2012
  • Quarterly rolling 5Yr Mean (90d 5Yr Mean) 3: 06/07/2011 to 03/10/2011
  • Quarterly rolling 5Yr Mean (90d 5Yr Mean) 4: 06/07/2010 to 03/10/2010
  • Quarterly rolling 5Yr Mean (90d 5Yr Mean) 5: 06/07/2009 to 03/10/2009
  • Past year (365d prior surveillance period): 04/10/2013 to 03/10/2014
  • Yearly rolling 5Yr Mean (365d 5Yr Mean):
  • Yearly rolling 5Yr Mean (365d 5Yr Mean) 1: 04/10/2012 to 03/10/2013
  • Yearly rolling 5Yr Mean (365d 5Yr Mean) 2: 04/10/2011 to 03/10/2012
  • Yearly rolling 5Yr Mean (365d 5Yr Mean) 3: 04/10/2010 to 03/10/2011
  • Yearly rolling 5Yr Mean (365d 5Yr Mean) 4: 04/10/2009 to 03/10/2010
  • Yearly rolling 5Yr Mean (365d 5Yr Mean) 5: 04/10/2008 to 03/10/2009
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 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 9 9 137 29 50.2 0.6 - 177 213.2 0.8 -
Hepatitis B (unspecified) 4 90 3 43 15 2 13 30 200 211 286 4,898 1,500 1,741.6 0.9 - 6,545 6,771.0 1.0 -
Hepatitis C (newly acquired) 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 1 7 13 17 337 87 95.4 0.9 - 443 417.6 1.1 -
Hepatitis C (unspecified) 6 119 5 124 16 17 37 43 367 312 395 7,704 2,468 2,616.2 0.9 - 10,204 10,399.0 1.0 -
Hepatitis D 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 1 37 14 9.6 1.5 - 53 37.4 1.4 -
Gastrointestinal diseases
Botulism 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.2 0.0 - 1 1.4 0.7 -
Campylobacteriosis 13 NN 5 222 83 26 32 118 499 503 545 13,692 3,926 3,821.8 1.0 - 17,948 16,138.8 1.1 -
Cryptosporidiosis 0 11 0 13 2 3 21 7 57 63 53 1,990 418 314.2 1.3 - 2,522 2,957.6 0.9 -
Haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 18 2 2.6 0.8 - 23 15.2 1.5 0.1
Hepatitis A 0 4 0 3 0 1 6 0 14 10 4 177 49 50.6 1.0 - 210 269.0 0.8 -
Hepatitis E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 42 19 5.8 3.3 6.1 52 35.2 1.5 8.4
Listeriosis 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 60 16 14.0 1.1 - 74 79.4 0.9 -
STEC, VTEC 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 6 99 21 30.4 0.7 - 123 120.2 1.0 -
Salmonellosis 2 101 11 117 26 4 82 42 385 437 384 12,428 2,741 1,920.4 1.4 292.4 15,607 11,284.4 1.4 1,793.2
Shigellosis 0 9 2 7 3 1 10 4 36 42 20 817 250 113.6 2.2 106.0 963 560.4 1.7 218.3
Typhoid Fever 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 3 6 3 92 23 20.2 1.1 - 126 122.0 1.0 -
Quarantinable diseases
Cholera 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1.2 0.0 - 4 4.6 0.9 -
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 0.0 0.0 -
Sexually transmissible infections
Chlamydial infection 46 775 90 717 105 68 0 345 2,146 2,469 2,992 63,097 18,230 18,569.6 1.0 - 83,017 75,472.4 1.1 -
Donovanosis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.6 0.0 - 1 0.8 1.3 -
Gonococcal infection 2 181 36 84 18 3 0 84 408 460 552 11,704 3,272 2,715.2 1.2 - 15,570 11,432.4 1.4 -
Syphilis - congenital 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 3 1.6 1.9 - 4 4.8 0.8 -
Syphilis < 2 years 0 2 3 4 1 1 6 4 21 67 87 1,311 391 351.2 1.1 - 1,748 1,386.6 1.3 -
Syphilis > 2 years or unspecified duration 0 2 4 7 2 1 14 0 30 60 58 1,349 397 364.8 1.1 - 1,728 1,409.4 1.2 15.8
Vaccine preventable diseases
Diphtheria 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 2 0.0 0.0 - 3 1.0 3.0 -
Haemophilus influenzae type b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 15 6 4.8 1.3 - 19 18.4 1.0 -
Influenza (laboratory confirmed) 82 983 57 1,150 1,258 46 825 441 4,842 9,728 2,406 61,385 52,636 22,541.6 2.3 4,853.3 67,793 33,601.6 2.0 2,852.3
Measles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 310 59 46.8 1.3 - 393 127.4 3.1 147.0
Mumps 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4 6 5 7 151 46 38.4 1.2 - 189 166.2 1.1 -
Pertussis 10 117 1 40 7 3 205 66 449 560 445 7,493 2,919 6,480.8 0.5 - 10,616 28,932.8 0.4 -
Pneumococcal disease (invasive) 3 20 1 9 7 4 22 9 75 105 59 1,224 606 631.2 1.0 - 1,559 1,698.2 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 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 14 4 11.0 0.4 - 20 39.2 0.5 -
Rubella Congenital 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 0.0 - 1 0.4 2.5 -
Tetanus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.6 0.0 - 1 3.8 0.3 -
Varicella zoster (Chickenpox)+ 0 NN 9 11 10 2 0 22 54 71 91 1,341 371 574.6 0.6 - 2,007 1,973.8 1.0 -
Varicella zoster (Shingles)+ 4 NN 6 1 45 10 0 36 102 137 164 3,771 956 895.6 1.1 - 5,110 3,742.2 1.4 -
Varicella zoster (Unspecified)+ 17 NN 0 252 26 11 0 57 363 346 385 7,751 2,271 1,979.8 1.1 - 10,357 7,725.8 1.3 278.0
Vectorborne diseases
Arbovirus infection (NEC) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 2 4.2 0.5 - 31 13.2 2.3 4.4
Barmah Forest virus infection 0 6 0 8 0 0 2 1 17 9 83 654 88 360.0 0.2 - 1,136 2,142.8 0.5 -
Dengue virus infection 0 5 3 1 1 0 0 4 14 28 46 1,327 217 247.2 0.9 - 1,638 1,339.2 1.2 -
Japanese encephalitis virus infection 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0.4 2.5 - 2 1.0 2.0 -
Kunjin virus infection 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0.0 0.0 - 4 1.2 3.3 1.1
Malaria 1 3 2 3 0 0 0 1 10 6 15 244 76 114.2 0.7 - 334 424.6 0.8 -
Murray Valley encephalitis virus infection 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 0.0 - 0 4.4 0.0 -
Ross River virus infection 0 21 9 68 3 0 6 29 136 164 96 3,913 867 575.2 1.5 - 4,796 4,792.4 1.0 -
Zoonoses
Anthrax 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 0.2 0.0 -
Australian bat lyssavirus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 0.2 0.0 -
Brucellosis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 5 6.8 0.7 - 19 27.8 0.7 -
Leptospirosis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 75 15 19.4 0.8 - 92 138.2 0.7 -
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 0 0 0 0 21 5 11.4 0.4 - 41 67.8 0.6 -
Q fever 0 3 0 8 0 0 1 1 13 16 17 369 97 86.6 1.1 - 469 368.0 1.3 -
Tularaemia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 - 0 0.5 0.0 -
Other bacterial infections
Legionellosis 0 0 0 4 2 0 3 7 16 14 30 302 96 98.4 1.0 - 422 359.4 1.2 -
Leprosy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 0 2.4 0.0 - 10 8.8 1.1 -
Meningococcal disease (invasive) 0 1 0 3 3 0 5 1 13 13 4 124 57 72.0 0.8 - 159 226.6 0.7 -
Tuberculosis 0 18 0 5 0 1 9 5 38 42 60 968 332 340.8 1.0 - 1,270 1,331.0 1.0 -
Totals 190 2,473 248 2,911 1,637 205 1,305 1,364 10,333 15,921 9,334 211,502 95,592        265,634       

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