Surveillance and Response Unit

The Surveillance and Response Unit sits within the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in Darwin.

It coordinates the routine public health response to notifiable diseases.

In Central Australia and other regional health service areas, the local CDC units initiate the public health response. The Darwin team provides support as needed.

Led by a public health physician, the multi-disciplinary team comprises:

• public health nurses
• epidemiologists
• surveillance officers
• a data manager.

What we do

The unit has a range of responsibilities including:

• carries out disease surveillance and monitors trends to inform policy and decision-making
• delivers the ‘on call’ function at CDC, providing advice to health professionals, businesses and the public
• responds to initial suspected and confirmed notifiable diseases
• monitors diseases for potential further spread or outbreak
• educates health professionals on notifiable disease reporting and management in the NT.

Surveillance updates

Read about communicable disease trends across the Northern Territory.

• CDC surveillance update - November 2024 PDF (821.7 KB)
• CDC surveillance update - October 2024 PDF (914.3 KB)
• CDC surveillance update - September 2024 PDF (1016.1 KB)

Report a notifiable disease

Find out how to report a notifiable disease and get specific disease information on the public health and notifiable diseases page.