How we look into diseases reported to us

Find out about notifiable diseases, which ones we investigate and how.

What notifiable diseases are

Public Health England have to tell us about confirmed cases of certain diseases, these are known as notifiable diseases. We have to investigate these diseases under the health protection regulations 2010.

How we investigate notifiable diseases

We investigate different diseases in different ways. It’s usually done through a standard questionnaire. 

Depending on the disease, we will contact the infected person by phone, post or visit them to complete the questionnaire.

We keep information confidential, and only use it for the investigation and for national statistics. 

We use the questionnaire to help decide whether we need to take further action. If the cause of the disease involves a food business, we may need to visit you more than once. 

The reason for these investigations is to try to reduce the spread of disease. The questions we'll ask you include:

  • your occupation - some occupations have a higher risk of passing on disease, like a food handler or a carer
  • what you've eaten recently - this could range from a few hours to several weeks
  • recent travel history or places you've been
  • who you've had close contact with - some diseases can spread from person to person

Which diseases are classed as notifiable

We will investigate: 

  • Campylobacter
  • Cholera
  • Cryptosporidium
  • Dysentery (Shigella)
  • E. coli
  • Giardia
  • Legionnaires Disease
  • Salmonella
  • Suspected Food poisoning (or Gastrointestinal Disease)
  • Typhoid/Paratyhoid (enteric fever)

Find out more about these diseases from GOV.UK. 

You can find information about infectious disease services from the NHS. Contact your GP with any concerns you have about your health.

For incidents in Brighton & Hove, phone 01273 294 416 or send an email to ehl.food@brighton-hove.gov.uk.