Communicable diseases

Our Public Health Unit identifies, investigates, controls, and prevents communicable diseases in Western Sydney communities to limit spread and impact.

We respond to reports from doctors, nurses, midwives, healthcare workers, childcare centres, schools, hospitals, and laboratories as well as the community about significant risks to public health.

We work closely with hospitals, general practices, aged care and childcare staff, the public health network within NSW and other agencies to control and prevent the spread of infectious diseases, and to improve public health practice and guidelines through education and research.

We also provide information to the public, businesses and health professionals on public health aspects of infectious diseases, guidelines for exclusion from childcare, school or work and medications and treatments that prevent spread of disease.

Contact

To report an infectious disease or an unusual disease outbreak, contact the Public Health Unit, Western Sydney Local Health District:

Phone: (02) 9840 3603. After hours: Phone (02) 8890 5555 (Westmead Hospital) - ask for Public health Officer on call.

Email: [email protected] (please note your facility name, contact details and number of symptomatic cases).

Facsimile: (02) 9840 3591.

About communicable diseases

Communicable diseases are caused by organisms or germs that are spread from one person or an animal to another person.

These diseases are spread in different ways depending on the specific germs that cause them.

Some ways communicable diseases can be spread:

Physical contact with an infected person, such as through touching (eg. staphylococcus), sexual intercourse (eg. gonorrhoea, HIV) or faeces (eg. hepatitis A)
Contact with a contaminated surface or object, such as food (eg. salmonella), blood (eg. HIV, hepatitis B), or water (eg. cholera)
Bites from insects or animals capable of transmitting the disease (eg. mosquitoes for Ross River Fever, or bats for lyssavirus)
Breathing in germs that have travelled through the air (eg. tuberculosis or measles).

Controlling & preventing communicable diseases

The law in New South Wales, in particular the Public Health Act 2010, requires doctors, laboratories, hospitals, aged care facilities, schools, and child-care centres to notify certain communicable diseases or medical conditions to the Public Health Unit.

See NSW Health infectious diseases for lists of notifiable diseases and notification forms.

Reporting & advice about communicable diseases

Anyone in the community can report their concerns about cases of communicable diseases in Western Sydney to our Public Health Unit.

Notification of diseases allows us to work with other health workers to identify the source of diseases and ensure appropriate public health action is taken to prevent further spread.

See NSW Health infectious diseases for lists of notifiable diseases and notification forms.

To report an infectious disease or an unusual disease outbreak, contact the WSLHD Public Health Unit:

Phone: (02) 9840 3603

Email: [email protected] (please note your facility name, contact details and number of symptomatic cases)

Facsimile: (02) 9840 3591

Useful links

General information on Infectious Diseases for patients, community members and professionals (NSW Health Infectious Disease)
Infectious diseases fact sheets (NSW Health)
In-language Infectious diseases fact sheets (NSW Multicultural Health)
Infectious diseases alerts (NSW Health)
If you are travelling overseas please register for SMS alerts on Australian Government Smarttraveller and speak to your local doctor about travel vaccinations and preventative measures to protect yourself against illness.
Food safety & You (NSW Food Authority) information about keeping you and your family safe by reducing the risk of food poisoning.
Food safety complaints (NSW Food Authority).

Centre for Population Health