Notifiable disease

How it is used

Each country keeps its own list. British English prefers 'notifiable disease'; American texts often say 'reportable disease'. A case is notified or reported; some diseases must be reported immediately, others within a few days.

Example sentences

1. Measles is a notifiable disease, so the clinic informed the health directorate the same day.

2. The list of notifiable diseases was updated to include mpox.

Common collocations

• notifiable disease list
• notify a case
• reportable disease
• statutory notification

Related terms

• surveillanceThe continuous, systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health data, shared in good time so that action can be taken to prevent and control disease.
• case definitionA standard set of criteria, such as symptoms, lab results, time and place, used to decide whether a person should be counted as a case of a particular disease.
• underreportingThe situation when the number of cases or deaths reported to health authorities is lower than the true number, for example because people do not seek care or doctors do not notify.
• communicable diseaseAn illness caused by a microorganism, such as a virus, bacterium or parasite, that can pass from one person or animal to another.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• notifiable disease · Veterinary Medicine

More terms: Surveillance and Reporting

• case
• disease registry
• sentinel surveillance
• syndromic surveillance