Launching of Disease Surveillance Unit Website

The Disease Surveillance Unit of the Department of Public Health is the national surveillance centre for infectious diseases in Malta. The goal of the unit is to help reduce the incidence of infectious diseases in Malta by monitoring notifiable diseases and by taking the necessary control measures.

The Unit has now launched its new Website, containing information about the more common infectious diseases (called A to Z of Infectious Diseases). This part of the site explains the symptoms, signs, and modes of transmission, treatment and prevention of these diseases. The site also describes the work done by the Disease Surveillance Unit.

The report and statistics pages give an idea on the local situation regarding infectious diseases including historical data. Another part includes publications of the Unit such as leaflets on meningococcal disease, food-borne illness, Legionnaires' disease and others. This site will provide useful information to the public, students and also to health professionals. We welcome feedback on the site by clicking on the 'feedback' link.

This Website is available at www.health.gov.mt/dsu.

The main objectives of the Unit include surveillance of infectious diseases in Malta and enhancing reporting of notifiable diseases by creating methods that would encourage early notification and disseminating relevant, accurate and timely information to all stakeholders.

The Unit also undertakes the responsibility for the control of infection through timely investigation and management of incidents of infectious diseases. Another objective is to undertake epidemiological research and to contribute to training in infectious disease control.

One of the main functions is to provide advice on infectious diseases to health professionals and the public. This advice is provided by means of published material through the media and now also from the Website.

Infectious disease surveillance is the continuous monitoring of the frequency and the distribution of disease, and deaths, due to infections that can be transmitted from human to human or from animals, food, water or the environment to humans, and the monitoring of risk factors for these infections. Surveillance tells us which infections are the most important causes of illness, disability and death, so that decisions can be taken for prioritising prevention and control strategies.

Another important purpose of infectious disease surveillance is to detect the occurrence of outbreaks so that immediate action can be taken to identify and control the source. By monitoring how the numbers of cases of an infection change over time, we can assess whether control and prevention activities such as vaccination programmes, are being effective in reducing the frequency of disease and its consequences.

Dr Charmaine Gauci, MD, M.Sc., is head of the Disease Surveillance Unit of the Department of Public Health.