PDF file - Department of Health and Ageing

National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, 2004
Annual report
(52%; 5,259), Mycoplasma pneumoniae (13%;
1,374) and Bordetella pertussis (13%; 1,358) were
the most commonly reported pathogens.
Australian Sentinel Practice
Research Network
The Research and Health Promotion Unit of the
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
operates the Australian Sentinel Practice Research
Network (ASPREN). ASPREN is a national network
of general practitioners that report each week on a
number of conditions selected annually. The data
provide an indicator of the burden of disease in the
primary care setting and allows trends in consultation
rates to be detected.
In 2004, infl uenza-like illnesses (ILI), gastroenteritis,
and varicella infections (chickenpox and shingles)
were the communicable diseases reported to
ASPREN. Each week an average of 28 general
practitioners (range 10 to 40) provided information
from an average of 2,913 (range 1,047–4,219) consultations
per week.
Infl uenza-like illness reports (Figure 68) showed
atypical seasonal pattern with two peaks, in mid-
July (20.3 ILI per 1,000 consultations), and in mid-
September (18.3 ILI per 1,000 consultations). This
may refl ect the different peak times of ILI in different
jurisdictions (Figure 68).
Consultations for gastroenteritis were not stable
to show seasonality, they fl uctuated between 6 to
17 cases per consultations. (Figure 69).
Figure 69. Consultation rates for gastroenteritis,
ASPREN, 2004 compared with 2003, by week of
report
Rate per 1,000 consultations
25
20
15
10
5
Gastroenteritis 2004
Gastroenteritits 2003
0
1 3 5 7 9 111315171921232527293133353739414345474951
Week of report
Figure 68. Consultation rates for influenza-like
illness, ASPREN 2004 compared with 2003, by
week of report
Rate per 1,000 consultations
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
5Jan
26 Jan
16 Feb
9Mar
30 Mar
20 Apr
11 May
30 May
20 Jun
11 Jul
1Aug
22 Aug
12 Sep
3Oct
24 Oct
14 Nov
5Dec
26 Dec
Week of report
2003
2004
Reports of varicella infections continue to be
reported at a lower rate by ASPREN. Rates of shingles
exceeded those for chickenpox in most weeks
but there was no recognisable seasonal pattern
(Figure 70).
Figure 70. Consultation rates for varicella
infections, ASPREN, 2004, by week of report
Rate per 1,000 consultations
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
Chickenpox 2004
Shingles 2004
0
1 3 5 7 9 111315171921232527293133353739414345474951
Week of report
CDI Vol 30 No 1 2006 75