Following amendments to the Road Traffic Act, the Health Department became a full member of the Road Safety Council. Dr Margaret Stevens from Injury Control was the inaugural Health Department representative on the council.

Disease surveillance in our community

In 1996/97, the Communicable Disease Control Program recorded more than 11,000 notifications for 54 notifiable diseases. Staff also responded to an average of 350 telephone calls each month from members of the general public inquiring about communicable disease.

State guidelines were developed for managing outbreaks of meningococcal infections, measles and pertussis.

Disease Control also intervened to control outbreaks of meningococcal meningitis, legionellosis, measles, shigellosis, salmonellosis and hepatitis A, and assisted in the control of outbreaks of Ross River virus infection and Australian encephalitis.

The area of notifying diseases was also considerably improved in 1996/97 with the production of a standardised and improved disease notification kit for use by medical practitioners throughout the State.

The notifiable database software was also enhanced, along with an upgraded procedure manual and electronic data transfer system.

Sexual health reaches new standards

Early in 1997, the Sexual Health Program was launched to implement the Explicit Performance Standards (EPS) developed after two years of consultation. The EPS process was finalised in March 1997 with key recommendations relating to workforce training, community education and quality management of STDs and HIV.

In 1996/97, the department worked closely with the Ministry of Justice to review blood-borne virus policies and practices in prisons and to develop proactive education and prevention strategies.

Funding for the needle and syringe distribution program, which has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission among intravenous drug users, was maintained in 1996/97. Two other projects, the Travel Safe campaign and the Youth Safe Sex community grants program, which reinforce the safe sex message, were also carried out in 1996/97.

HIV Case management

Specialised services were provided to 45 clients including counselling, education and support to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.

Officers from the department made 1,394 contacts with clients with the majority (70 per cent) responding positively to intervention.

Policy in this area underwent some reform in 1996/97 to take into account increasing complexity of associated issues such as mental illness, social disadvantage and drug use.

Injury control

Work began on the development of a Statewide strategic plan for injury prevention. A number of training workshops were also conducted and starter grants were made available for participating local communities.

A pilot injury surveillance system to collate road trauma data from children admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital was established with funding from the Road Safety Council. This information will be used in the development of future injury control strategies and projects.

Hereditary diseases

In 1997, a Hereditary Disease Program protocol was developed for collaborating with genetic support groups in WA. The Department also continued to promote maternal serum screening for neural tube defects and Down’s syndrome, with the aim of increasing uptake of screening by 30 per cent by the end of 1997. Assistance was also provided with development and publication of resources for genetic support groups such as Marfan syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Neurofibromatosis syndrome and the Thalassaemia support group.

Help for asthmatics

Education and counselling to improve management and understanding of asthma to reduce morbidity and mortality was provided to 190 new clients in 1996. A total of 619 clients were contacted for follow-up assistance. Six seminars for health professionals were also conducted throughout the year.

Health screening for migrants

The Department provides voluntary on-arrival health screening for migrants admitted under humanitarian programs and special circumstances. In 1996/97, 782 new migrants were treated through 1,564 attendances. This accounted for 98 per cent of people eligible for the service. Notifiable diseases were detected in 13 per cent of clients, and other communicable organisms, including parasites, were identified in 40 per cent. A total of 739 immunisations were administered.

Vaccine-preventable diseases

Both the vaccine distribution network and the Central Immunisation Clinic at Rheola Street in West Perth continued to process a large volume of work during the year. This ongoing work in the area of immunisation is paying dividends within the community.

There has been a 95 per cent reduction in the incidence of invasive Hib disease since vaccination was introduced in 1993, from an average of 40 cases notified per year to one case in 1996.

There were no notifications of polio or diphtheria, but whooping cough continues to be reported due to its high communicability and the difficulty in interrupting its transmission. There was one notification of tetanus, a disease which continues to appear primarily in incompletely immunised middle-aged people.

The Australian Childhood Immunisation Register was introduced in January 1996 to record all scheduled vaccinations of children aged between 0 and 6 years for a trial period of two years. Measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccination was offered to Year 7 as well as Year 8 students in the metropolitan area for the first time in 1996/97. By changing the school-based MMR vaccination program from Year 8 to Year 7, it is estimated an additional 10 per cent of students will receive this booster at school.

Tuberculosis control in WA

The Perth Chest Clinic saw approximately 10,000 patients for tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment in the year. The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) remained low in 1996/97 at 4.4 per 100,000 people, as did the TB mortality rate at 0.2 per 100,000 people. A total of 77 people were diagnosed with active TB in the calendar year of 1996 and all have been successfully treated, including one case of multi-drug resistant disease.

On the preventive side, 3,875 new or prospective migrants and 461 TB contacts were screened in 1996/97. As a result, 76 people were prescribed preventive medication and 713 children were given BCG vaccinations.

In September 1996, a new health surveillance system for miners began. This new system means certain chest X-rays are read specifically for occupational lung diseases. A total of 70 clients were assessed, resulting in the detection of 34 cases of pneumoconiosis and 40 malignant lung conditions.