ABSTRACT
Surveillance has been described as information for action. Communicable disease surveillance is the continuous monitoring of the frequency and the distribution of disease and death due to infections that can be transmitted either from humans to humans or from animals, food, water or the environ - ment to humans, and the monitoring of risk factors for those infections. The first step in the control of any communicable disease, regardless of whether it is a prevalent disease or a newly emerg ing one (including those associated with bioterrorism) is prompt recognition and identification. To achieve this goal, organized systems of surveillance for all prevalent diseases are essential. Communicable disease reporting is the first line of alert for the prevention and control of communicable diseases: all public health and healthcare workers should be aware of diseases that need to be reported as well as how and why reporting is achieved.
