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| Communicable Diseases Network Australia | |
|---|---|
| Name | Communicable Diseases Network Australia |
| Abbreviation | CDNA |
| Formation | 1989 |
| Type | Advisory committee |
| Headquarters | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory |
| Region served | Australia |
| Parent organization | Department of Health and Aged Care |
Communicable Diseases Network Australia is an expert national advisory committee providing technical guidance on notifiable infectious diseases, epidemiology, outbreak control, immunisation strategy, and laboratory coordination across Australia. The network advises the Council of Australian Governments health apparatus and interfaces with state and territory health departments, the Department of Health and Aged Care, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, and international bodies to harmonise public health practice. It convenes specialists from public health units, laboratories, clinical medicine, and research institutions to produce surveillance definitions, case management advice, and outbreak protocols used by the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, state health authorities, and primary care providers.
The origins trace to national efforts in the late 20th century to coordinate infectious disease control after experiences with poliomyelitis and influenza; early influences included the World Health Organization frameworks, the Australian Health Ministers' Conference, and the establishment of the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System in 1991. The network formalised advisory roles through interactions with the Communicable Disease Network of Australia predecessors, revisions following the 2002 SARS outbreak, and structural updates prompted by the 2009 swine influenza pandemic and the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Subsequent reform integrated lessons from the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season’s public health impacts and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, aligning CDNA guidance with the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee operations and the Public Health Act 2005 (NSW)-era frameworks.
CDNA comprises nominated representatives from each state and territory health department, laboratory directors from the National Association of Testing Authorities-accredited services, clinicians from tertiary hospitals such as Royal Melbourne Hospital and Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, and academic epidemiologists from institutions including the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne, and the Australian National University. Membership includes chairs of specialist groups like the Australian Society for Infectious Diseases, representatives from the Australian Medical Association, and delegates from research centres such as Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and Kirby Institute. Secretariat support is provided by the Department of Health and Aged Care, with liaison arrangements to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation for laboratory science and the Therapeutic Goods Administration for vaccine-related issues.
Core responsibilities encompass formulation of national surveillance case definitions used by the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, issuing disease-specific control recommendations for conditions such as measles, pertussis, tuberculosis, and COVID-19, and advising on outbreak escalation metrics employed by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee. CDNA issues guidance that informs statutory reporting under state public health acts, coordinates multi-jurisdictional outbreak investigations with public health units such as the Victorian Health Department and the NSW Ministry of Health, and supports policy decisions by the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council. It also advises on laboratory testing algorithms in collaboration with the Public Health Laboratory Network and provides expert input for national immunisation strategy developed alongside the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
The network standardises surveillance methodologies for the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, guides syndromic surveillance integration with hospital systems such as St Vincent's Hospital, and endorses laboratory reporting pathways through state pathology services and private labs accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities. CDNA develops case definitions and data elements that feed into national datasets used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for health reporting and by research centres including the Burnet Institute. It collaborates with digital health initiatives like the My Health Record system for interoperability, and aligns with international surveillance frameworks from the World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
During outbreaks, CDNA provides rapid technical guidance, convenes expert working groups, and issues national recommendations for case isolation, contact tracing, quarantine, and vaccination strategies. Notable activation scenarios include coordination in response to the 2009 swine influenza pandemic, the 2013–2014 measles clusters linked to international travel, and protocols used during the COVID-19 pandemic to standardise case definitions, testing priorities, and outbreak thresholds across jurisdictions. It liaises with emergency response agencies such as the Australian Defence Force for surge logistics, with state emergency services during localised incidents, and with the Therapeutic Goods Administration for emergency use authorisations of diagnostics and therapeutics.
CDNA publishes nationally endorsed guidelines including case definitions, outbreak control guidance, and vaccine-preventable disease management documents used by clinicians, laboratories, and public health units. These outputs inform clinical practice at hospitals like Royal Perth Hospital and Prince Charles Hospital, underpin surveillance reports by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and support training programs at universities such as the University of Queensland. Publications are developed with input from specialist colleges including the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and are used to harmonise state-level public health orders and clinical pathways.
CDNA engages with international partners including the World Health Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation health fora, the CDC's global health networks, and regional public health agencies in the Pacific Islands Forum to support outbreak preparedness and capacity building. It collaborates with academic consortia such as the Global Health Security Agenda partners, research institutes like Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, and donor agencies to support surveillance strengthening in neighbouring countries. Multilateral engagement ensures alignment with international health regulations overseen by the World Health Assembly and facilitates exchange with agencies including the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the Pan American Health Organization.
Category:Public health in Australia Category:Infectious disease organizations