Infectious diseasesepidemiology and surveillance

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Introduction 

The blue book: guidelines for the control of infectious diseases has been published by the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Unit Victorian Department of Health, to assist public health practitioners in the prevention and control of infectious diseases.

The Department of Health is committed to enhancing and protecting the health and well-being of all Victorians. Our challenge, together with public health practitioners, is to monitor, prevent and control current and emerging communicable diseases within the Victorian community through the implementation fo targeted public health strategies based on surveillance and risk assessment in a partnership approach.

Contents

Acknowledgements

These guidelines have been developed by the Communicable Diseases Section, Public Health Group. The Blue Book – Guidelines for the control of infectious diseases first edition (1996) was used as the basis for this update.

We would like to acknowledge and thank those who contributed to the development of the original guidelines including various past and present staff of the Communicable Diseases Section.

We would also like to acknowledge and thank the following contributors for their assistance:

• A/Prof Heath Kelly, Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory
• Dr Noel Bennett, content editor
• Dr Sally Murray, content editor
• Ms Kerry Ann O’Grady, content editor

 

Disclaimer

The Blue Book in part refers to the previous Health Act 1958 and subodinate regulation. This Act has been replaced by the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 and the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009 which came into effect on 1 January 2010. The Victorian statutory requirements for notifying infectious diseases and exclusion from schools and children’s service centres have changed to reflect the new Act and Regulations. Check the requirements for notifications and for exclusion from schools and children’s service centres. The Blue Book is currently under review.

These guidelines have been prepared following consultation with experts in the field of infectious diseases and are based on information available at the time of their preparation. Practitioners should have regard to any information on these matters which may become available subsequent to the preparation of these guidelines.

As treatments change over time health care workers should consult the current version of Therapeutic guidelines: antibiotic (Therapeutic Guidelines Limited) for up to date information. The blue book is not intended to replace appropriate referral or the need to seek further professional advice.

Information for each disease in this edition covers:

• Victorian statutory requirement for notification and exclusion
• infectious agent(s)
• identification
• incubation period
• public health significance and occurrence
• reservoir
• mode of transmission
• period of communicability
• susceptibility and resistance
• control measures for patients and contacts
• outbreak measures
• international measures if applicable
• sources of further information if applicable

 

Abbreviations used

See the abbreviations table at the bottom of this page

• Acute bacterial conjunctivitis
• Amoebiasis
• Anthrax
• Ascariasis (round worm infection)
• Barmah Forest virus disease
• Botulism
• Brucellosis (undulant fever, Malta fever)
• Campylobacter infection
• Chicken pox or shingles (varicella / herpes zoster)
• Chlamydia (genital infection)
• Chlamydophila pneumoniae
• Cholera
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)
• Croup or bronchiolitis
• Cryptococcal infection (cryptococcosis)
• Cryptosporidiosis
• Cytomegalovirus infection
• Dengue virus disease
• Diphtheria
• Donovanosis
• Erythema infectiosum (human parvovirus infection or slapped cheek disease)
  • Slapped cheek infection information sheet
  • Slapped cheek infection information sheet for pregnant women
• Food or water-borne illness
  • Common food or water-borne pathogens
• Giardiasis
• Gonorrhoea
• Haemophilus influenzae infections
• Hand, foot and mouth disease
  • Hand, foot and mouth disease information sheet
• Hendra & Nipah viruses
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• Hepatitis D (delta hepatitis)
• Hepatitis E
• Herpes simplex infections
• Human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
• Hydatid disease (echinococcosis)
• Impetigo (school sores)
  • Impetigo (school sores) information sheet
• Infectious mononucleosis (glandular fever)
• Influenza
• Invasive pneumococcal disease
• Japanese encephalitis
• Kunjin virus disease
• Legionellosis (Legionnaires' disease)
• Leprosy (Hansen's disease)
• Leptospirosis
• Listeriosis
• Malaria
• Measles (rubeola)
• Melioidosis
• Meningococcal disease
• Molluscum contagiosum
  • Molluscum contagiosum information sheet
• Mumps
• Murray Valley encephalitis virus
• Mycobacterial infections (non-tuberculosis)
• Mycobacterial infections (tuberculosis)
• Mycobacterium ulcerans
• Pediculosis or headlice
• Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Pinworm infection (threadworm)
• Plague
• Poliomyelitis
• Psittacosis (ornithosis)
  • Psittacosis information sheet
• Q fever
• Rabies and Australian bat lyssavirus
  • Rabies and Australian bat lyssavirus exposure information sheet
• Rickettsial infections
• Ringworm or tinea
  • Ringworm (tinea) information sheet
• Ross River virus disease
• Rotaviral gastroenteritis
• Rubella (German measles)
• Salmonellosis
• Scabies
  • Scabies information sheet
  • Guide to scabies management in residential care facilities
• Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
• Shigellosis
• Smallpox (variola)
• Staphylococcal infections
• Streptococcal disease (Group A beta-haemolytic streptococcus)
• Syphilis
• Taeniasis
• Tetanus
• Toxoplasmosis
• Typhoid and paratyphoid fever
• Verotoxin producing E. coli (VTEC)
• Viral gastroenteritis (not rotavirus)
• Viral haemorrhagic fevers
• Yellow fever
  • Vaccination outlets in Victoria
• Appendix 1: Contacts
• Appendix 2: Glossary
• Appendix 3: Standard and additional precautions
• Appendix 4: Procedure for managing an exposure to blood/body fluids/substances
• Appendix 5: Procedure for managing spills of blood and body fluids/substances
• Appendix 6: Cleaning and waste disposal procedures
• Appendix 7: Infections in children's services centres
• Appendix 8: School exclusion table

Download document

 The blue book

References

The following sources were used in the preparation of the guidelines:

• Therapeutic Guidelines Limited 2003, Therapeutic guidelines – antibiotic, version 12.
• Heymann D, 2004 Control of communicable diseases manual, 18th edn, American Public Health Association (the 17th edition, Chin J ed. 2000, was used in compiling The blue book).

Other sources

• Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing 2010, Australian guidelines for the prevention and control of infection in healthcare, (the previous guidelines, Infection control guidelines for the prevention of transmission of infectious diseases in the health care setting, were used in compiling The Blue book)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta USA
• Food Standards Australia New Zealand
• National Health and Medical Research Council 2003, The Australian immunisation handbook, 9th edn (the 8th edition was used in compiling The blue book)
• National Health and Medical Research Council 2006, Staying healthy in child care, 4th edn ,(the 3rd edition was used in compiling The blue book).

Further information

Together with the references above, the following resources provide further information.

• Better Health Channel, information for the public
• Clinicians Health Channel
• Health Translations Directory, links to health information that has been translated into various different languages
• Victorian Department of Health, Guidelines for the investigation of gastrointestinal illness

Abbreviations used