A notifiable disease is one which the law requires to be reported to government authorities.
In England and Wales, notification of infectious diseases is a statutory duty for registered medical practitioners and laboratories, under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 and (in England) the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010. Similar provision, albeit with a different list of diseases, is made for Wales in the Health Protection (Notification) (Wales) Regulations 2010.[1]Medical practitioners are required to notify their local authority of diseases on the list in writing within three days, or if the situation is urgent, by telephone within 24 hours.[2] For Scotland, similar provision is made by the Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008.[3]