1. DISPARITY BETWEEN NOTIFIABLE INFECTIOUS DISEASE HOSPITALISATIONS & NOTIFICATIONS IN THE NORTH EASTERN HEALTH BOARD: A CAUSE FOR CONCERN?

The notifiable infectious disease process is essential for prompt public health action and for the monitoring of “real-time ” disease incidence in the Irish population. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the occurrence of notifiable infectious diseases is seriously underestimated. The aim of this study therefore was to address this question by quantifying the burden of notifiable infectious diseases on in-patient hospital admissions from 1997 to 2002 in the NEHB and comparing the results to the statutory notifications. All hospital in-patient admissions from 1997 to 2002 with a principal diagnosis relating to “infectious diseases ” (ICD codes 001- 139) by residents from the NEHB were extracted from the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry System (HIPE). All notifiable infectious diseases were identified based on the 1981 Irish Infectious Disease Regulations and the data was analysed in JMP statistical package. This data was compared with the corresponding notification data for the NEHB for the same period. Analysis of the HIPE data from 1997 to 2002 revealed a substantial burden associated with notifiable infectious diseases in the NEHB. There were 2,759 hospitalisations by 2,455 residents, 17,035 bed days taken up and 31 fatalities. The most common notifiable disease hospitalisation