The Public Health (Notification of Infectious Diseases) (Scotland) Regulations 1988

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations consolidate with amendments the Public Health (Infectious Diseases) (Scotland) Regulations 1975 (“the 1975 Regulations”) relating to the notification and prevention of infectious disease.

Certain infectious diseases are statutorily notifiable by virtue of the Infectious Disease (Notification) Act 1889 and were listed in the 1975 Regulations. Those diseases are now listed in Part II of Schedule 1 to these Regulations (see regulation 3). The 1975 Regulations separately listed other diseases as notifiable in terms of the 1975 Regulations. The majority of these diseases are now listed in Part I of Schedule 1 (see regulation 3). The form used for notification purposes is updated and appears in Schedule 2.

The principal changes from the earlier listings are:—

(a) that chickenpox, food poisoning, legionellosis, mumps, rubella and tetanus are made notifiable, and that leprosy and ophthalmia neonatorum are no longer notifiable;

(b) that references to Lassa fever, Marburg disease and yellow fever are removed, since these diseases are now covered by the general term “viral haemorrhagic fevers”;

(c) that leptospiral jaundice is termed “leptospirosis”, dysentery is termed “bacillary dysentery”, and paralytic and non-paralytic poliomyelitis are replaced by the term “poliomyelitis”.

The provisions in the 1975 Regulations relating to the reporting of diseases to the Chief Medical Officer are now simplified (regulation 6) and Part III (provisions for preventing the spread of certain diseases) of the 1975 Regulations is revoked. The provision in that Part relating to typhus and relapsing fever is no longer required, and since section 71 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 (c. 46) makes adequate provision for the medical examination of a carrier of infectious disease, the provision relating to examination of carriers is revoked.

Regulations concerning weekly returns of infectious diseases notified (regulation 4), exchange of information about cases of infectious disease (regulation 5) and confidentiality of information concerning these diseases (regulation 7) are updated.

The 1975 Regulations and subsequent amending Regulations are revoked (regulation 9).