Communicable disease

Communicable diseases
Since the 1991 NSW Public Health Act, communicable diseases are notified by laboratories, hospitals and general practitioners. Public health response is overseen by the Public Health Unit, Population Health and Planning Directorate, via a variety of agencies including community health, hospitals, environmental health officers, food inspectors, sexual health and chest clinics, local councils and the Medical Officer of Health. In the North Coast Area the following are important causes of infection:-

Viral hepatitis (specifically hepatitis C);
Vaccine preventable diseases;
Foodborne illnesses: eg Salmonella, Rotavirus, Giardia;
Arboviral infections: Ross River & Barmah Forest Virus;
AIDS and sexually transmissible disease (specifically syphilis);
Zoonoses: Q Fever.

Continued monitoring of these and other notifiable diseases is the first step to management and control. Many of these diseases are preventable with development of multi-strategic control programmes.

The following links compare NCA with the NSW average and other Area Health Services.

Immunisation
Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) data for the NRA indicate that at the end of 2001, 84% of children aged 12 to less than 15 months were fully immunised. This is the lowest rate in the state when compared to other Area Health Services.

Immunisation of children by health area

The following links compare Northern Rivers Area vaccination rates with the NSW average and other Area Health Services.