While there are many human diseases which require emergency management, some are public health emergencies. Disease emergencies can originate and occur within the state or alternatively they can also be acquired from outside the state or even the country. Air travel and international trade mean that diseases can be spread rapidly across state borders or internationally. There is also concern that some diseases may be spread deliberately by terrorists.

Natural disasters such as earthquake or flooding can have an impact on the spread of human disease as too can industrial accidents where toxic chemicals or fumes are accidentally released into the environment. The health impacts of such disasters will depend on the nature and scale of the disaster and the effect it has had on both the environment and human life. For these reasons it is difficult to accurately predict human disease outcomes in these circumstances as each situation will be different with each requiring a different crisis management strategy.

Human disease that would require emergency management would be those diseases that:

• are easily transmitted and spread rapidly
• have high mortality rates
• require special action for control, or where
• an outbreak could rapidly turn into a regional epidemic.
• might cause extreme public anxiety.

Some examples include:

• pandemic influenza
• SARS
• viral haemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola
• smallpox
• anthrax
• plague.

Public Health Units

• monitor and investigate the occurrence of disease within the population
• investigate outbreaks of disease and coordinate the response to major epidemics or other disease emergencies
• provide authoritative information and advice to government, professionals and the public
• participate in disease monitoring at the national level so that any unusual events can be detected early.

Learn More

For more information on communicable diseases:
Communicable Disease Control Branch

For information on other human diseases, disabilities, disorders:
Human Services Finder