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Communicable diseases are a significant health issue in Australia and around the world. We develop policies and work with experts, organisations and other agencies to protect the Australian population against disease outbreaks, and reduce their impact on people and our economy.

Governments carry out communicable disease surveillance in Australia at international, national, state and local levels. This helps us better understand disease patterns and the threat to public health. We can then work to prevent outbreaks and respond to them faster and more effectively.

We work with health authorities and other partners across Australia and the world, to prepare for and respond to emerging health threats and to minimise their impacts. We identify risks to health security through liaison with these partners, and data reporting and analysis.

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a severe disease that affects your airways and breathing. Find information about MERS, what the symptoms are and how you can help protect yourself and your loved ones from severe illness.

The National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry stores data about occupational respiratory disease diagnoses and exposures in Australia. This will help us better understand the diseases so we can protect workers and support those affected and their families.

We take a One Health approach to managing health challenges in Australia. This ensures policies and programs recognise the intrinsic link between the health of humans, animals and the environment, for a better coordinated and effective response to our health challenges.