Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA)

Role

The Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) provides high-quality surveillance of communicable and notifiable diseases, including:

• HIV/AIDS
• sexually transmissible infections
• vaccine-preventable diseases
• arboviruses
• zoonotic diseases
• enteric diseases.

Objectives

The CDNA’s objectives are to:

• develop and coordinate national surveillance programs for communicable diseases
• develop policy, strategy and advice on the prevention and control of communicable diseases
• support and strengthen training and capacity building in the communicable disease field
• coordinate the investigation and control of multi-jurisdictional outbreaks of communicable disease
• engage and work with national and international partners to prevent and control communicable diseases.

Ongoing functions

Along with its core surveillance function, the CDNA's ongoing functions include:

• participating, where appropriate, in the Australian Health Protection Committee's (AHPC's) program of health sector exercises, such as desktop mass casualty or pandemic preparedness exercises
• advising the National Health Emergency Management Subcommittee (NHEMS) on how to include a CDNA component in its development of forward plans for AHPC engagement in national health sector exercises
• advising NHEMS on how to include appropriate public health/communicable disease practices in national emergency frameworks
• providing advice on research priorities to strengthen domestic disease surveillance and control
• working with other relevant national committees
• providing advice on the inclusion and/or removal of conditions on the National Notifiable Diseases List.

Members

The CDNA consists of government representatives (state, territory, federal and New Zealand) and representatives from relevant organisations.

See our members page for the list of current members.

Meetings

The CDNA meets fortnightly to share and evaluate the latest information and developments in communicable diseases surveillance.

The CDNA provides national leadership to investigations of outbreaks that affect more than one state or territory (called multi-jurisdictional outbreaks). It holds extra teleconferences as needed when outbreaks occur.

Publications

See our CDNA publications page for links to CDNA documents.

Related committees or groups

The CDNA is a subcommittee of the AHPC. The AHPC endorses the CDNA’s annual work plan.

The CDNA has several subcommittees of its own:

• Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Incident Panel
• National Arbovirus and Malaria Advisory Committee (NAMAC)
• National Blood Borne Virus and Sexually Transmissible Infections Surveillance Subcommittee (NBBVSTI SSC)
• National Immunisation Committee (NIC)
• National Respiratory Infections Surveillance Committee (NRISC)
• National Surveillance Committee (NSC)
• National Tuberculosis Advisory Committee (NTAC)
• Polio Expert Panel (PEP)

Contact