Decision No. 4880/2002/QÐ-BYT on the issuance of the Regulation on Information and Reporting of Infectious Diseases Causing Epidemics

DECISION OF THE MINISTER OF HEALTH

Regarding the issuance of the Regulation on Information and Reporting of Infectious Diseases Causing Epidemics

________________________

THE MINISTER OF HEALTH

Pursuant to Decree No. 68/CP dated 11/10/1993 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

Pursuant to Decision No. 630/TTg dated 31/12/1993 of the Prime Minister on establishing the list of state secrets in the health sector;

This Decision hereby issues the List of vaccines and medical biological products produced abroad that the Ministry of Health considers for registration for circulation in Vietnam in 2003.

DECISION:

Article 1. Issued together with this Decision is the "Regulation on Information and Reporting of Infectious Diseases Causing Epidemics"

Article 2. This Decision shall take effect 15 days from the date of signature and issuance and shall replace Directive No. 10/1998/CT-BYT dated December 28, 1998 of the Minister of Health on information and reporting of epidemics and Decision No. 986/2002/QD-BYT dated March 26, 2002 of the Minister of Health on notification of infectious diseases causing epidemics.

Article 3. The Heads of the Office, Inspectorate, Preventive Medicine Department, and other Departments under the Ministry of Health; Director of the Vietnam National Pharmaceutical Administration; Director of the Quality Control and Food Safety Administration; Heads of units directly under the Ministry; Directors of Provincial Health Departments, Provincial Preventive Medical Centers; Heads of related units are responsible for implementing this Decision.

REGULATIONS

INFORMATION AND REPORTING OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES CAUSING EPIDEMICS

(Issued together with Decision No. 4880/2002/QD-BYT

dated December 6, 2002 of the Minister of Health)

PART I

General Provisions

Article 1

This Regulation governs the system of information and reporting of infectious diseases causing epidemics (hereinafter referred to as IDCE) within the country and international notification of IDCE.

Article 2

This Regulation applies to the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the West Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute, the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute, and other institutes under the preventive healthcare system; provincial health departments; provincial preventive medical centers; central hospitals; provincial hospitals; district, county, town, and city-level health centers under provinces; regional multi-specialty clinics; and communal health stations, ward health stations, and town health stations (hereinafter collectively referred to as commune).

Article 3

In this Regulation, certain terms are understood as follows:

2. Weekly report on IDCE is a report on IDCE during the period from the second day to Sunday of the week.

3. Monthly report on IDCE is a report on IDCE during the period from the first day to the last day of the month.

4. IDCE under management includes diseases numbered from 1-24 in Appendix 1 attached to this Regulation and newly emerging diseases as announced by the Ministry of Health. HIV/AIDS and Malaria are separately reported according to their own reporting systems.

5. International notification of IDCE involves informing the World Health Organization (WHO), international organizations, non-governmental organizations, diplomatic missions, foreign businesses, foreign news agencies...

6. Email is an electronic mail format used to send reports or data in attached file form.

Article 4

The Preventive Medicine Department of the Ministry of Health is responsible for advising the Minister of Health on managing national functions in directing the prevention and control of IDCE and the reporting of IDCE nationwide.

The Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the West Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute, the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute, and other institutes under the preventive healthcare system are responsible to the Ministry of Health for the prevention and control of IDCE, verifying information, reporting the situation of IDCE in their areas of responsibility, and directly assisting localities in controlling outbreaks when they occur.

Provincial Health Departments are responsible for advising the People's Committees at the provincial level on directing the prevention and control of IDCE and reporting epidemics locally.

Chapter II

Provisions on Domestic Information and Reporting of Epidemics

Article 5

System of Information and Reporting of IDCE:

1. Preventive Healthcare System:

a. Communal health stations are responsible for monitoring IDCE and reporting to the District Health Center (Preventive Healthcare Team).

b. District Health Centers (Preventive Healthcare Teams) are responsible for directing communal health stations to monitor IDCE in their areas of responsibility and reporting to the Provincial Preventive Healthcare Center.

c. Provincial Preventive Healthcare Centers are responsible for directing subordinate preventive healthcare units and coordinating with treatment system units to monitor IDCE in their areas of responsibility and reporting to the Hygiene and Epidemiology Institutes, Pasteur Institutes in charge of regions, and the Ministry of Health (Preventive Medicine Department).  d. The Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the West Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute, the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute, and other institutes under the preventive healthcare system are responsible for directing provincial preventive healthcare centers under their assigned areas of responsibility and coordinating with treatment system units to monitor IDCE and report to the Ministry of Health (Preventive Medicine Department).

Treatment System:

2. Regional multi-specialty clinics; outpatient departments, infectious disease departments, pediatric departments of district and provincial hospitals; Clinical Tropical Medicine Institutes; institutes and hospitals under the Ministry with staff dedicated to monitoring IDCE must promptly inform preventive healthcare units at the same level when cases of IDCE under management or unknown diseases are diagnosed, specifying the time, location, number of cases, deaths, and simultaneously reporting measures taken to control the epidemic, followed by daily reports on the development of the epidemic until it ends.

Emergency Reporting of Epidemics:

Article 6

Within 24 hours of detecting diseases, syndromes under international quarantine, IDCE under management, unusual high numbers of cases or deaths of unknown diseases at the local level, healthcare facilities as stipulated in Article 5 of this Regulation must urgently report to higher-level health authorities and bypass levels to report to the Ministry of Health (Preventive Medicine Department), the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the West Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute, the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute (by telephone, fax, email...), clearly stating the time, location, number of cases, deaths, and simultaneously reporting measures taken to control the epidemic, followed by daily reports on the development of the epidemic until it ends.

Weekly Report on IDCE:

, Clause 1, Clause 2 Article 7a of this Regulation.

Report on BTNGD weekly:

Weekly, provincial Preventive Health Centers must report on Notifiable Infectious Diseases (BTNGD) in their locality to the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pasteur Institutes responsible for the region, and the Ministry of Health (Preventive Medicine Department); the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Western Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the HCMC Pasteur Institute, and the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute must report on BTNGD under their jurisdiction to the Ministry of Health (Preventive Medicine Department). The report must clearly state the number of cases, deaths, causes of illness, assessment of the situation's development, measures taken, and any recommendations (if applicable). The report must specify which week of the year it is, even if there are no cases during the week, a report must still be submitted according to the attached appendix of this Regulation (Form 1a for Preventive Health Centers, Form 1b for Hygiene and Epidemiology Institutes, Pasteur Institutes). If there are additional or adjusted data from the previous week's report, they must be noted in the remarks section.

Article 8

Monthly Report on Notifiable Infectious Diseases (BTNGD):

Monthly, provincial Preventive Health Centers, the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Western Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the HCMC Pasteur Institute, and the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute must report on BTNGD within their management scope to the Ministry of Health (Preventive Medicine Department) according to the attached appendix of this Regulation (Form 2a for Preventive Health Centers, Form 2b for Hygiene and Epidemiology Institutes, Pasteur Institutes). If there are additional or adjusted data from the previous month's report, they must be noted in the remarks section. Diseases not recorded in the month must also be reported.

Chapter III

International Information and Reporting on Notifiable Infectious Diseases (BTNGD)

Article 9

The Preventive Medicine Department of the Ministry of Health is the sole agency authorized by the Minister of Health to announce international BTNGD.

Article 10

Contents of the announcement of international BTNGD include:

1.1. Monthly reporting of the number of cases of diseases subject to international quarantine, including Cholera, Plague, Yellow Fever, confirmed in laboratory diagnosis.

1.2. Monthly reporting of the number of clinical cases, deaths, and positive test results for some major BTNGD.

1.3. Reporting syndromes for new or unknown diseases.

Chapter IV

Implementation

Article 11

The Preventive Medicine Department of the Ministry of Health is responsible for weekly and monthly reporting on the situation of infectious diseases causing epidemics domestically, with a focus on the global situation of infectious diseases causing epidemics according to the World Health Organization (WHO) announcements, internet, and other information channels (if available) to the Ministry leadership.

Article 12

The Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Western Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the HCMC Pasteur Institute, and the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute are tasked with reporting to the Ministry of Health (Preventive Medicine Department) every Thursday (for weekly reports) and the fifth day of each month (for monthly reports) on the situation of BTNGD in the regions assigned to them.

Article 13

Provincial Preventive Health Centers are responsible for monitoring and collecting data on infectious diseases from communes through preventive health teams, hospitals, regional multi-specialty clinics, counties, and provincial hospitals to report to the Ministry of Health (Preventive Medicine Department) and the Hygiene and Epidemiology Institutes, Pasteur Institutes in charge every Wednesday (for weekly reports) and the third day of each month (for monthly reports).

Article 14

For weekly reports, if the Friday of that week coincides with a holiday, units must submit their reports one day earlier than required. If the reporting date coincides with a holiday, the unit must submit the report before 9 AM on the following day and send it in advance via fax, email, or telephone report.

For monthly reports, if the reporting date coincides with Saturday, the unit must submit the report on Friday, and if it coincides with Sunday, the unit must submit the report on Monday of the following week.

All reports must be submitted in written form with the signature of the unit leader and stamped. In case the leader is absent or in an emergency at the time of submission, the report can be sent in advance via fax, telephone, or email but must still be officially submitted in writing afterward.

Article 15

The Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Western Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the HCMC Pasteur Institute, and the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute are responsible for monthly compiling and re-reporting the situation of BTNGD in the month to the Preventive Health Centers under their jurisdiction.

Article 16

When grasping the situation of BTNGD, preventive health facilities must closely cooperate with treatment facilities, medical units in the military and police forces stationed in the area to collaborate together.

ANNEX 1

List of infectious diseases causing epidemics

(Issued together with Decision No. 4880/2002/QD-BYT

dated December 6, 2002 of the Minister of Health)